Mass Effect: Dimensional Rift
by Bundlejumper
Summary: I thought breaking up with my girlfriend was the worst thing that would happen to me that day… goes to show how much my luck sucks. Hurled into a world of blood and war, a decision was made for me and I found myself fighting a war that wasn't my own... and then I was sent off again… to another world and war I didn't wish to fight. Self-Insert covering ME-1. Starts in Warframe.
1. Chapter 1

"You know what? I don't have time for this!"

"Yes well isn't that becoming the story of our relationship?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"What it's supposed to mean? Maria, whenever one of us have a problem with the other it always ends with us "not having the time" to deal with it. So you know what? I'm done with this, we should have listened when our friends told us you and I were bad for each other, because right now I have no trouble believing them"

"Then leave! The door is right behind you and I won't stop you!"

I didn't bother responding to that, I turned around left through the door. I shut it silently behind me to spare Maria's neighbors the sound of a slamming door but I should have known after two years that Maria doesn't take being put off lightly. Sure enough the door is ripped open behind me not five seconds after I left

"Where do you think you are going?! Come back here!"

I heard her yell but I also knew that this scene had played out three times before in the past. I am not making the same mistake for a fourth time. Her yells eventually disappeared as I exited the entire apartment complex and all the sound I was left with was the wind blowing in the night.

In truth the relationship I had with Maria was always corrosive, we couldn't stay friendly with each other for very long and even then it would usually only be because either one of us wanted sex. We got together after a weeklong vacation trip with our friends to a beach house; we had gotten along all week and had shamelessly flirted with one another which culminated in us sleeping together on the last day of the trip.

Our friends all said that she and I getting together would end in disaster sine we were two completely different people, being the hormonal idiot I was at the time I didn't listen. Shows how smart I was at the time.

The streets were darker than usual today due to a blackout that occurred some four hours ago, something went really wrong and the majority of the street lights in my area were shut off so the nearby houses could have power. I came to an intersection and had to make a choice, to the left was my home and a bed, to my right was the bar I had begun frequenting with some of my friends. Truth be told a drink sounds a lot more pleasant than my bed right at this moment, so I took a right.

It was a small bar which could only seat around 20 people but me and my buddies loved it here, the bartender was awesome and always put up with our loud behavior and he even let us rent the place once for a birthday party. But as per usual when I straggle in there at 01:00 in the morning the place wasn't exactly full, they might be open until 04:00 but most people left by midnight.

"Two beers problem or do I have to pull out the good stuff?"

It was Roderick the bartender who asked once I stepped inside. Roderick is a great guy and always looks out for us when we are here and he is usually the one to listen to all our problems, regardless of what they are. He hates his name with a passion though, so we just call him Rick.

"No this is not worth the good stuff so yeah, two beers" I replied

I noticed the Russian sitting at his usual booth sleeping and drooling as per the norm. The Russian is an old war veteran who is always here and only drinks a cheap brand of vodka that no one else even touches, which is why we took to calling him the Russian. Once I was seated at the bar Rick put the glass in front of me and held up his own for a toast

"To a hopefully more healthy future relationship for you" said Rick

"And may you finally find a girl who will put up with you" I replied

We both took a large swig from the glass, me more so than Rick but I needed it. I didn't speak at first and merely stared into my drink while thinking, Rick was messing around with something behind the bar like he always was while waiting for anyone to speak.

"So you and Maria are through huh?" he asked when he ran out of patience

"Yup" I replied

"Finally got enough?"

"Yup"

"Not going to run back to her in a month like last time?"

"If I do you have my permission to shoot me"

"Wonderful, I have been dying to try my new hunting rifle"

"Asshole"

"No I do think that is Daniel's preference"

"Indeed"

"Want to tell me what finally tipped the scales?"

"She accused me of cheating on her with Clara, once the argument heated up she simply said she didn't have the time to deal with it and I realized that, that was the story of our relationship so I Ieft. End of the show, curtains, take a bow and enjoy the ovation"

"Now I know Clara is hot, but even you wouldn't go after your own cousin"

"Oh please, I have seen how she treats her boyfriends, I wouldn't go anywhere near that without wearing something akin to full plate armor even if she wasn't my cousin"

"Yeah… So what is your plan now?"

"Finish this drink, go back home and play a game or something then black out on my bed and wake up tomorrow hoping I don't feel the urge to go back to her. Then I will probably call up Philip and tell him he was right and then listen to him admonishing me for a few hours. Beyond that? No clue"

"So same procedure as the last three times, hopefully with a different end result this time?"

"Pretty much"

We fell back into silence as I finished my beer and paid. Right before stepping outside the bar I head Rick calling behind me

"Hey Marc! You sure you are okay?"

"Not really Rick, but it's time to move on"

I left the bar with a broken smile on my face. As you can figure out my name would be Marc, I am twenty years old and currently finishing up school. Ahead of me lies the same path I arrived to the bar at, sadly there is no little shortcut to be taken between my home and the bar so I have to go back to the intersection and then up again.

Taking a short turn I was finally on the path to my apartment, I could almost feel my bed sheets already. When I was a little more than halfway there I saw something off in the distance, it looked like a large metal construct was visible off in the distance, I blinked and it was gone. Now I'm not prone to hallucinating or anything else but that looked pretty fucking real to me. I shook my head violently hoping I was not going completely crazy.

That same construct kept appearing as I approached my home, the shape had become more pronounced and I vaguely recognized the shape. Something about the three drills on the front seemed familiar as did the very boxy body it had, but I couldn't place it no matter how hard I tried.

Stepping up to my apartment complex I opened the first door and took the stairs up two floors to my apartment at the second floor. Right before I opened the door I felt like someone struck me over the head with pan, I felt dizzy and an instant headache was present. This wasn't the first time this had happened, I have had episodes like that for three years now, each of varying intensity. I opened my door and tried to take a step inside but my legs felt like lead and before I knew it my vision darkened and the last thing I registered was the floor coming ever closer.

The darkness around me seemed endless and I knew I wasn't awake, at least not yet. I also felt like I was moving though I couldn't tell you in which direction I was currently going. A faint voice was in the distance and seemed to be saying something but I couldn't catch it. I felt myself slowing down in tact with the voice becoming clearer and just before everything came to a stop I heard one word "Impossible"

* * *

When my eyes would finally open again I almost wished they wouldn't. It had been a pretty nasty fall and I was quite sure I landed head first; I better not have a concussion or something from that. I managed to get up so I was on all four and then I tried to take a breath, only for the air I inhaled to taste metallic and artificial, something was definitely wrong here!

I forced my eyes to open and almost let out a yelp as I saw the giant machine in front of me. It was the same thing I had seen of in the distance, the three drills on the front and the large metallic body. The only difference was that being right here in front of it I could easily place it, only I didn't want to. I stood up and looked around and sure enough I recognized the giant square room I was in with the raised glass windows.

I heard a door hiss open and almost jumped forward to hide in front of the large machine, hoping that it would conceal me from whoever had just entered the room. The footsteps came closer and closer until I knew they would be on me in a second. In a last ditch effort I crawled beneath the actual machine and tried to make myself as small as possible. A bit difficult when you are 198cm tall and overweight but I had to try at least.

The footsteps stopped at the front of the machine and two voices began speaking in a language I sort of knew but didn't understand, mostly because it sounded like absolute gibberish to me. I kept listening and waiting, eventually their conversation did come to a halt and the two people left the room.

Crawling out of my hiding space I looked around for a way to run but I couldn't see any other than two doors. If my memory of this place matches then I know where both lead and I dislike both options. I chose the left one hoping it would lead somewhere I could hide and figure all this mess out, only when I stepped up to the door something deep inside my mind alerted me that I shouldn't go anywhere near that particular door.

For once I trusted my gut and walked over to the opposite door, when I didn't feel nauseous about it I walked through it and saw the stairs to my right. I walked up them carefully and kept looking around for any sign of life, I found none. The giant door in front of me was open and I saw it lead out into a set of corridors, it seemed as good as place as any to try and hide.

The corridors were all empty no matter where I went and it only made me more nervous, empty corridors were never a good sign. I came up to a door at the end of my current corridor and opened it, the sight I was met with made my stomach flip and I had to turn around from the sight as I emptied my stomach onto the floor. The room behind me was littered with bodies, just from one glance I noticed that they were all dismembered.

I ran down the corridor and took a left and just kept running. I wanted to get away from all this no matter what, even if some part of me knew that there was no escape. I managed to run through another open door before I stopped dead in my tracks and stared

"Space…"

Was the only word and thought on my mind as I gazed out of the windows on the side of the ship or station I was currently on. I could see the stars all around me and the planet below us, it was a beautiful sight without a doubt but even more so it was terrifying. I tried to look away as my mind began accepting where I was and what was going on but my eyes were glued to the vast dark beyond.

Had I not been so extremely focused on what was in front of me I might have heard the footsteps behind me, I might even have heard the heavy breathing of the man himself. But as it stood all I felt was a sharp pain at the back of my head before everything faded to black.

I opened my eyes but was met with only darkness once again, only this time I could actually feel something in front of my eyes. My hands were tied with something that I couldn't identify though my legs were free. I don't know how long I spent sitting in the dark waiting for something to happen, I don't think I have twirled my thumbs for a longer period of time.

I did end up hearing something stirring in the same room as me, after a while I recognized the voice of someone waking up. A loud gasp sounded a few moments later, presumably when that person looked at me. I tried turning my head in the direction of the voice but I really couldn't tell if I was staring up, right, left or down. After a few moments I felt a pair of hands at the side of my head before whoever was in the room with me lifted something away from my eyes.

After the initial flare of light subsided and returned my sight to me I was quite shocked by what I saw. Sitting across from me in a very skin tight suit was a woman; my problem however was with the logo on the woman's forehead.

"Lotus…" I breathed the word out almost silently

And that was when it actually sunk in completely, as if seeing this person made everything real. I don't know if I panicked or hyperventilated or what I did, but I certainly didn't speak for a good long while. I sat on my bed, or whatever you call this, with my legs up to my chest and was completely silent while turning everything around in my head.

The woman had tried on multiple occasions to grab my attention only it didn't really work, I mean I looked at her and then I would panic and look away again. I had however noticed how pale, what little of her skin that was actually showing, was.

Something akin to a few hours passed by before I began feeling tried, the woman must have seen my drowsiness because she smiled at me and pointed at my "bed". I however tried to ignore her until she took of that visor that covered her eyes, one it was gone a pair of striking green eyes was revealed that seemed to be almost drilling into your skull.

With one hell of a frown the woman stood up and went over to me before she latterly _forced_ me to lie down, she then decided to apparently ensure that I didn't move an inch by sitting next to me while I was sleeping. After a few minutes I did however lose consciousness simply because I couldn't keep myself awake anymore.

* * *

I was awoken when someone shook me violently. My eyes were still heavy but I did manage to look up at the strange woman I shared a cell with, she was pointing franticly with her hands towards the door. I sat up and stared at it until the sounds finally reached my ears, _gunfire_. Someone was fighting outside and with the amount of energy the woman was displaying I was quite sure who it was out there, I just hoped I was right.

A few minutes later the gunfire died down and I began hearing doors open around us, whoever was opening these cells were looking for someone and wasn't having much luck. When our cell door finally shifted from red to green I gave a low smile. The door hissed open and I almost fell back down in shock, why? Because in front of me was what could best be described as a 3 meter tall bloody RHINO WARFRAME! And I am not joking about the "bloody" part, that thing was covered almost head to toe in blood.

The woman seemed ecstatic to finally be free and was happily accepting the gun that the Rhino Operator was handing her. When the Rhino however landed its gaze on me I froze in place, something about this Rhino just made me feel bad in general. The woman began speaking and from the gestures she was performing I was almost sure she was trying to advocate bringing me along. I swear each time that Rhino looked from her to me I tried to take a step back, only there wasn't more room for me to step back into!

After a few minutes of talking (What felt like hours to me) it was apparently decided I would be coming along with them, at least that is what I gathered when the Rhino left and the woman began hauling me after him. We went through a multitude of corridors and doors before entering a large room, only for me to be shoved back out of said room just in time to hear incredible amounts of gunfire. When I looked towards the sounds it was easy enough to see the Rhino popping out of cover to shoot with his weapon, something I recognized slightly to be a Soma.

Once that battle had been waged we continued on, we didn't encounter anymore resistance for a long while. When we reached the final corridor I saw the open door at the end leading into a room where it was quite visible that something had dug itself into the ship, I assumed it as the spacecraft of the Rhino. However as soon as we stepped into the room I suddenly felt a small pain in my stomach, when I looked down I just managed to catch the rapidly spreading red splotch on my shirt.

"It would seem I have been shot… unfortunate"

I crack jokes or attempt to at the worst possible times, it is my coping mechanism and right there I had just been shot and felt like coping was a very good thing to attempt. Didn't work mind you, since I still fell to the floor with a scream before the pain became so intense that I blacked out. I did manage to catch the Rhino speeding down the hallway towards the shooter before I completely lost consciousness.

**Third Person Point of view**

The Tenno piloting the Rhino Warframe had reacted instantly to the sound of gunfire behind them. A quick turn and a rapidly released Rhino Charge saw him standing face to face with the shooter, a simple Grineer grunt that had remained undetected from them. He was spouting all sort of nonsense that the Rhino was completely ignoring, he was more interested in the weapon that had just shot the Grineer he was bringing with him… or if you believe the Tenno he just saved, the human he was bringing with him.

The Rhino threw the Grineer against the wall and withdrew the Galantine blade hanging from his back and with a quick slice split the Grineer in two. Cleaning the blood of the weapon could wait to another day so the Rhino bent down and picked up the weapon that he identified quickly enough as a standard Grineer firearm, nothing dangerous about it in terms of poisons or the like. So the Rhino headed back to his ship and lifted the human off the ground as he walked.

Inside the ship the human was placed on a table where the Tenno he had just saved began treating his wounds. The Rhino needed to go inform HQ that the mission was a success and that he was bringing home a wounded person. Sitting down in the pilot seat he quickly punched in the code and began flying back towards HQ at the same time he made the call.

"Rhino-204 calling HQ"

"_This is HQ, what is the matter Rhino-204?"_

"I need a medical team on standby for when I return. I succeeded in rescuing the Tenno operative but she was sharing a cell with someone, the operative is claiming he is human"

"_Surely she means one of the Grineer Empire's colony people?"_

"No, she is quite adamant in him being "Human" and not part of the Grineer Empire. Anyway the human was shot before we could enter my ship; the operative is seeing to his wounds and can keep him stable until we return"

"_Roger that Rhino-204 I will make sure that a team is ready. Do you want me to inform the Lotus as well?"_

"Yes, she will most likely meet us at the docks then"

"_Roger that, we will see you in a bit Rhino-204"_

The com then shut off and the Rhino gave a loud sigh before he removed his helmet and placed it on the dashboard of his ship. He was getting tired, his sleep cycle was almost here so he shouldn't take another mission once he was back at HQ at least not before he had slept.

Standing up the Rhino turned around and walked back into the medical wing of his ship and looked over the supposed human. He didn't look well, his skin had become unnaturally pale from the blood loss and the operative could only do such much to stem the blood flow without knowing about his physiology.

"Do you think he will make it to HQ?" asked the Rhino

"I hope so, the chance to learn about humans is exiting" replied the operative

"You really think he is a human from the old times? We don't know what happened to those that didn't join the Grineer or Corpus after all"

"I'm almost sure of it; you weren't in the cell with us so you didn't see how he was reacting to it. He seemed to be completely at loss regarding everything… also he didn't understand a word I said, another indicator since most Colony Grineer understand us"

"If you are right then I fear what this one will tell us. Many speculations have been made about what happened before we all went into Cryo-sleep, perhaps now some of our worst fears might be realized or stopped"

"That is what I hope… What is your name by the way?"

"Rhino-204, Arck at your service"

"Former Volt-632 Chellia, thank you for saving me"

Arck shrugged "No need to thank me, you are one of us we would never leave you in the hands of the Grineer"

Chellia gave a small smile "Perhaps not, but I thank you none the less. How long until we arrive at HQ?"

"Within the hour"

"Good, I hope he will last that long" said Chellia while gently stroking the human's head.

* * *

When the ship docked at Tenno HQ Arck carried the human outside and handed him over to the medical team already standing ready for their arrival. He then noticed the Lotus out of the corner of his eye and immediately bowed to his leader when she arrived.

Lotus gave a smile and a small laugh when she saw how seriously Arck took his duty, she had on multiple occasions told him that he didn't need to kneel bow whenever she entered a room, he was simply too stubborn to listen to her.

"Arck, good to see you have returned" she then turned her gaze onto Chellia "And Chellia I'm happy you have been returned to us in good health"

Chellia gave a quick bow "Thank you Lotus, if you will have me excused I must report to the Medical Wing and receive my check up before I can be debriefed"

"Of course Chellia" replied Lotus

Chellia gave a smile and a wave before leaving. Arck at that point raised himself back up and was now staring down at the Lotus; she was a great deal shorter than him after all.

"The mission was a success Lotus, aside from the minor complication of the extra individual" said Arck

"Indeed I am most intrigued about him, do you really think he is a human?" asked Lotus

"I am not sure Lotus, I will not hold my breath but I cannot disagree completely with Chellia's assessment either. We will find out once he awakens I guess"

"That we will. Now go and get your own checkup and I will meet you for debriefing later"

"As you wish Lotus"

Arck gave another bow before leaving which only made the Lotus chuckle at his disappearing back, he took his missions way too seriously.

On his way towards the medical wing Arcks thoughts passed to the human once again. He was surprised to find him in that cell indeed; he was even more surprised when Chellia argued for his rescue. But above all else there was one thing Arck was quite sure about when it came to this new arrival, he would be the start of strange times for Tenno.

**A/N: First chapter done, though we are staying inside the Warframe universe for one more chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 2 of the Rewritten series.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or the Warframe franchises.**

**Third Person Point of View**

Arck left the hangar with a thoughtful expression on his face. The "human" was resting heavily on his mind. He had told Chellia that some of the Tenno might fear what he would tell them, what he didn't tell her was that he was one of those Tenno.

Arck had spent much of his time after coming out of cryo on researching the civilizations that came before them, this included both the Orokin and the humans. He had found nothing important and it had infuriated him to no end, mostly because he to this day still had flashbacks of his memories before cryo.

Focusing once more on where he was Arck found that his legs had carried him in front of a very specific apartment door. He knew she would be there if he knocked and she would happily talk with him about his problems, but he didn't know if he could keep himself in check any longer. Lotus he loved her… he loved her and he couldn't say it.

A click brought Arck out of his thoughts as the door in front of him opened to reveal a set of alluring dark purple iris. It was clear just by looking into her eyes that she was smiling at seeing him, so it was with great difficulty that Arck finally managed to croak out something that sounded like a "Hello"

"Arck, it's good to see you again. How did your mission go?" asked Eryna

Arck opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted when Eryna apologized and asked him to come inside. He followed her into the living room and sat down in the couch and waited as Eryna went to grab to glasses of water for them. Once she was firmly seated on the other side of the sofa she gestured for him to go on.

"The mission went well, it began just as I had expected and nothing seemed completely out of the ordinary. I fought my way to the holding cells and located where they held our sister. However when I opened the cell I was surprised to find another person in the cell with her" began Arck

Eryna raised a curious eyebrow at that. It was very rare for the Grineer to keep captives together, so it must either have been done in haste or perhaps they simply had a lot of prisoners aboard that particular ship.

"Chellia, the captive, was quite adamant that I bring him along, she kept insisting that he was a human" said Arck with an even face

"A human? Surely a simple Grineer subject isn't that special?" asked Eryna confused

Arck sighed slightly "No Eryna, not human, but _Human_"

Eryna's eyes widened as realization hit her "Surely you are joking? I mean a human from before the Orokin era? If it's true we might just have found the key to what happened to us all"

"Indeed and perhaps we have, but I doubt it. I want to believe that he is one of them but I just can't wrap my mind around how he got here. Aside from time travel what other explanation could you give that justifies him being here?" mumbled Arck tiredly

"I don't know… it seems so surreal. So where is he now?" asked Eryna

Arck shifted slightly as he leveled his eyes with the ceiling "Down in the medical wing I would assume, getting the gunshot treated"

Eryna almost flew out of the sofa and was gone before Arck had a chance to react. Letting a breath escape him Arck stood up and stretched before beginning to walk towards the medical wing while mumbling something about crazy nurses and needles.

* * *

**My point of View**

I returned to conciseness when several voices began appearing in my head speaking in a language I couldn't understand. I recognized it as the language the Rhino had spoken with my cell mate so I labeled it as "Tenno". I tried to sit up but the wound in my stomach was keeping my down. I tried to move other parts of my body and found that thankfully most everything seemed to still be alright.

Given that the inside of my mouth tasted like a freshly used bathroom everything else was really in remarkable condition. I forced my eyes to open and felt a wave of nausea as the entire world came into my blurry vision, the ceiling seemed to be moving and the bed I was in felt much the same.

Ignoring my body's heavy protest I sit up and lean against the head of the bed. I tried to discern who it was that was speaking but all I got was shadows that always seemed to pass right outside my field of view. I closed my eyes again and focused as much as my scattered mind would allow and opened my eyes again to take in a now much more detailed world.

I finally realize why it is I only saw shadows, I am behind a curtain and right outside a dozen people are moving around and talking with each other. I catch the occasional gesture towards my bed and figure they are speaking about me.

A soft clatter makes me turn my head and my eyes landed on the only Tenno whom was on my side of the curtain. From what I could see while staring at the Tenno's backside I assume she is a woman given her slender form and way her body curved to indicate a female physique.

My turning about must have alerted her because she turned around and in the moment her golden irises locked with mine I could have sworn that my heart skipped a beat. Her heart shaped face held a softness that I had never seen before and her silver hair flowed down her back reaching all the way past her knees.

I saw her eyes widen in surprise at my sitting position and in a flash she had turned and called a name before she was at my side trying to push back down. An endeavor she succeeded in I might add, Tenno are apparently extremely strong even outside their Warframes. So when I was finally lying back down the curtain was pulled and a myriad of different Tenno were presented to me.

The only one I recognized was the woman who stepped forward with a few careful steps, all I had ever seen of her was also the part I used to identify her. The strange helmet she wore easily presented her as "Lotus" the one whom gives you mission in the Warframe game.

I will say that the woman herself is god damn scary as all fucking hell… why? Because of the sheer pressure you feel when she is around. When is staring directly at you (like you know… now!) you feel small and insignificant, as if you are easily replaced no matter who you are. And yet the smile on her face is undeniably the most kind and caring one I have seen in my rather short life.

And then she turned around to speak with some of the assembled Tenno and the pressure disappeared. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and once more sat up in the bed, to which I was met with a fierce scowl from the Tenno whom had pushed me down moments before.

I tried to listen in on the conversation but understood shit all of what they were saying. It sounded like absolute nonsense to me but who am I to judge an ancient race of warriors on their choice of language.

I looked around the room I was in once more and now found that this place had a lot of technology all over the walls. I recognized nothing but got the gist of some of the machines from what they were seemingly connected to. One particular machine was attached to me and I figured it measured my heart-rate from the rather consistent beeping sound it made.

My gaze returned to the gathering of Tenno as Lotus stepped forward and placed herself directly at the foot of my bed before she slowly removed her headpiece letting her full face show. I will say that aside from having a beautiful smile she certainly has the face to match. Her hair however was an interesting shade of red, not something I would have guessed.

When our eyes met that feeling of insignificance returned. It was as if she was judging my very soul and yet I couldn't look away… no scratch that, I didn't _want_ to look away. Her irises was an incredible shade of flaring red that seemed to almost keep you enthralled as long as you looked at them and yet the more I stared the more peaceful I felt.

When I noticed her mouth moving I tried to listen to what she was saying but found myself once more understanding nothing. I could hear her switching languages a few times and figured that she was trying to see if I might recognize one, too bad for her all I speak is my native language and English. After a while she seemed disgruntled and a small smile played on my lips as I spoke without thinking

"I'm sorry Lotus, I simply don't understand anything you say"

Her eyes seemed to widen along with some of the gathered Tenno before she quickly turned to one that looked something akin to a doctor and pointed towards a door in the room. The Tenno seemed to have caught fire as he bolted out of the door and I could hear a mad scramble as he searched for whatever it was that Lotus had asked him to get for her.

He returned moments later with what looked like a regular wrist watch. Of course if that device is actually nothing more but a common watch then I will happily eat the bed on which I am currently sitting. The lotus took the device with what sounded as a 'thank you' before she once more turned to me and held out her hand with the palm up. I understood the message well enough so I placed my hand in hers and found myself quite surprised when I felt just how warm it was. I mean it was like really warm, so either I am suffering from the worst fever of all time or Tenno have an incredibly high core temperature.

She slapped the device on my wrist and pressed a few buttons before she stood up and took a step back so she stood with the gathered Tenno once more and they all began staring expectantly at me except for the pretty one that had forced me to lie down earlier, her looks was more one of worry which I didn't take as a good sign.

I was proven right moments later when the device gave a small sound and I soon found something drilling into my wrist which caused me to scream in incredible pain as I began thrashing around while I attempted to remove the device from my wrist. But just as quick as the pain had come it disappeared once again.

I leveled a glare at Lotus despite now feeling even more afraid than before. Whatever she had just done to me I was almost positive it wasn't something good and I was dreading to find out what it was. To my surprise Lotus expression softened as she stepped forward and sat down at the foot of the bed before she once more locked her eyes with mine.

"Hello. Do you perhaps understand me now?"

I recoiled in shock both because I had just understood her but also because it had sounded like the cleanest of English. I actually bumped my head with my sudden backwards movement and I felt my vision go blurry for a second before it refocused and I was met with the worried face of Lotus. I tried to jumpstart my brain to say something but it just seemed like nothing would leave my mouth.

"I… I understand you… how?"

And yet a question was formed, albeit a basic one. I really wanted to know just what she had done to make me understand her. Her first response to my question was to smile gently at me before she gazed at my wrist, I followed her eyes and assumed that the pain I just went through made me able to understand her and the device might function as a sort of translator.

"The device on your wrist injected you with a set of nanites whom raced to your brain and implemented a basic understanding of our language. In time, when you have learned our language on your own the nanites will detach from your brain and begin working on keeping your body healthy"

The mind can play some horrible tricks on you if you aren't careful. When Lotus said that I had _nanites_ attached to my brain I could have sworn I felt them there for a few seconds. I felt my entire body go cold as I began shaking and my breathing sped up which was accompanied by an increasing beeping sound from my heart machine. I passed out in shock.

I was awoken fairly quickly it would seem since everyone who was there when I blacked out was there now as well. I sat up slowly and kept staring down onto the white sheets that were covering me. I couldn't wrap my mind around what I had been told and something about it just felt wrong to me. I looked up and met the Lotus eyes.

"I guess there is nothing to do about it now. Thank you for saving my life Lotus"

Lotus smiled gently at me "It was not I that saved you. Your thanks should go to the doctors who operated on you as well as the Tenno who brought you here"

I raised an eyebrow before nodding in the direction of what I assumed to be the doctors before my focus was brought around to Lotus again

"Speaking of him, is there a chance I could meet him?"

"Perhaps later, for now we need to run a few tests to ensure you are indeed healthy enough. I also have some questions if you wouldn't mind?"

It was easy to hear the order in the first part and the pleading in the second. A smile crept onto my face as I rolled it over in my head. I am quite sure what sort of questions she will be asking me but I don't know how much I will be able to tell her, my knowledge of the Warframe universe is limited after all.

"Ask anything you like Lotus. I can't promise I can answer all of them though"

A female Tenno stepped forward and tied a band around my arm after which she produced a needle and took a sample of my blood. She nodded to Lotus once before she sent me a curious look and then stepped out.

"Better start with the most important question. Are you a human?" asked Lotus

The question made me grow weary and I knew this was dangerous territory. I could only come up with so many excuses and I don't even know how they would react if I spoke some of the names I knew. A smile tucked on my lips

"Indeed I am. Curious question to be asking, is it not rather obvious?" I questioned

"I don't think you understand the question in its entirety. Are you part of the Grineer or the Corpus factions?" Lotus replied

"I am part of neither" I commented

This drew a reaction as most the Tenno began mumbling between them. My head began pounding a few moments later and a royal headache introduced itself. I wanted to figure out a way out of here or find a way home but I came up short. Some glances kept being turned my way and a small idea popped into my mind.

"Lotus?" I asked to which she turned her head towards me "You call yourself Tenno yes?" a nod "Any connection to a man named Hayden Tenno?" I asked

The entire room went dead silent as everyone stared at me with cautious expressions and even a bit of fear which didn't make sense to me, if anyone was supposed to be scared it sure as hell should be me!

"Hayden Tenno… the first… how do you know his name?" asked Lotus

I shrugged as my idea expanded and formed into a lie I knew would come back to bite me one day.

"It's the name of a man whom began uniting humanity under one banner, claiming that times ahead would call for mankind to stand united as one species. Personally I think the man is crazy but who knows" I said

I saw Lotus shaking ever so slightly as a few incoherent words left her mouth after which she coughed and spoke anew.

"Hayden Tenno was the first of the Tenno order. From what we knew he made the first contact with the Orokin and together they created the first Warframe that eventually gave rise to our order. Not much else is known since a lot of our data has been destroyed" said Lotus

Now from what I have played of Warframe I know that at least some of that is tripe. We still haven't found out in Warframe how the Tenno came to be but most assume it was because the Orokin build the Warframes and gave it to some of their kind but all we really have is theories.

"Then I will confer to your expertise as I have no knowledge on the subject. Last I checked it was the year 2013 and I was on my way home. Beyond that I don't know what I can tell you" I mumbled

I saw Lotus thinking deeply over something for a while before she turned and began speaking with one of the present Tenno for a while. When they were finished they both turned to me and Lotus spoke up.

"There are many questions I would like answered but your health comes first. So once your checkup is complete and we are sure you are in good health then we will return to these questions. Also the Tenno who saved you "Arck", I will see if I can get him to meet you later"

She gave me a nod which I returned before she turned and left the room alongside three of the gathered six Tenno. The male Tenno she had been speaking with moments before walked forward and extended his hand. I grabbed it and shook it thrice before he spoke.

"Hello. My name is Alcor and I am the head of the medical department. I will be the one conduction your health checkup. The gentleman on my right is Crawa our head surgeon and the man whom duck the bullet out of your stomach. The lovely lady on my left is Sivra whom is the leader of our nurse staff she has been overseeing your recovery since the operation" said the now named Alcor

They both gave a nod and a 'hello' as a greeting which I returned but my gaze lingered on the one named Sivra. She was the one whom I had seen after I woke and her beauty still captivated me like nothing else had ever done before, it was a very strange sensation.

"My name is Marc, good to meet you. And thank you Crawa for saving my life" he gave me a nod and a smile "I should warn you though Alcor, for a human I am in incredibly bad physical shape" I said

"I will take that into consideration then. But for now I would like you to go back to sleep for another few hours, we will conduct the tests once you wake up" said Alcor

I nodded and watched as the curtain was pulled in front of my bed once more and the light dimmed as the three Tenno left my room. I was then left there sitting in the dark with my thoughts. It didn't take long before I felt the first sting in my eye and soon enough tears were falling freely down my cheeks as I cried for my lost family and friends that I had left behind when I came here. I cried until I couldn't any longer and sleep claimed me.

* * *

My eyes flew open and my body lurched forward as I sat up in my bed. I was sweating and shaking. I rubbed my eyes and sighed. What a fucked up nightmare, no more drinking before going to bed. I slammed back down in my bed and expected to hear the usual creaking that my old half broken bed makes whenever I lie down in it and yet I heard nothing.

"You have got to be shitting me…" I mumbled

I opened my eyes and looked up into the clean white ceiling. I turned my head as the small almost silent beeping of the machine next to me reached my ears. It wasn't a dream… I am actually in the Warframe universe… I couldn't do anything about it so I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

Footsteps alerted me to someone arriving and the curtain got pulled away revealing the form of Sivra. She held a small smile on her face as she saw I was standing up and looking somewhat refreshed. I smiled back weakly.

"Good you are awake. If you will follow me I will bring you to our scanner so we can get a full body scan of you. Afterwards we will be taking a tissue sample and we already have a blood sample from earlier" said Sivra

I nodded and followed her out through one door and down a hall to a large room where a large machine reminding me of an MRI stood humming. I was guided over to it and asked to lie down and be still. The machine ran me over a few times and I heard Sivra and Alcor muttering something to one another between scans. When the machine turned off I sat up and was met with something that resembled a cotton swab that Sivra used to take a saliva sample.

"Alright Marc that was both the scan and the tissue sample. If you will follow me I will take you into a waiting room where Lotus will meet you in a few minutes" said Alcor

I nodded once more and followed him out into the hall where he led me left while Sivra went right, presumably to deposit the tissue sample. The room I was led into had two sofas facing each other with a table in the middle. Alcor guided me to one sofa and then said goodbye before leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I didn't get to sit there for long as about a minute later the door opened once more revealing Lotus with two individuals behind her. One of them I recognized slightly, or I should say I recognized the mouth and jaw. If I had to guess I would say that the female Tenno with Lotus was the person I shared a cell with and the male Tenno would be the Rhino that saved me.

All three walked over and sat opposite of me in the other sofa. Lotus then gave a small smile before she gestured to the female Tenno on her left.

"This is Chellia, the Tenno that you shared a cell with on the Grineer ship. She requested to be here alongside Arck whom is sitting here on my right. He is the Rhino operator that saved you and brought you here after you had been shot" said Lotus

I reached over and shook hands with both of them along with a nod to both.

"It's good to finally meet you, both of you. First I must thank you Arck for saving my life by bringing me here, I understand you could just as easily have left me there and only brought Chellia with you" I said

Arck waved a hand in front of his face "Think nothing of it. In fact you might want to thank Chellia instead; she was after all the one who convinced me to bring you along"

I turned my head and thanked Chellia to which she simply smiled and nodded. Lotus broke the short silence when she coughed, bringing my attention back to her.

"Well on to more important matters. We need to find a place for you to live while we figure everything out. There are sadly no available apartments but I don't feel it is safe either way to leave you on your own in place you have no knowledge of" said Lotus

I nodded in understanding. The logic was sound enough, leaving me alone could end up causing all sorts of problems. Who knows how Tenno would react to seeing someone like me walking around, hell someone might misunderstand me for a Grineer or Corpus and attempt to kill me. My gaze fell on Arck as I took in his appearance, he has short messy brown hair with a pair of piercing blue eyes that held an unnatural amount of sharpness. Aside from that it was easy enough for me to see that he was at least two heads taller than me. It was the same with most of the Tenno I had seen, Sivra was about my height perhaps slightly shorter while Alcor, Crawa, Chellia and Lotus were everywhere between a few centimeters to a head taller than myself.

Lotus looked like she was slowly losing her mind while she tried to think of a way to get me placed somewhere while Chellia looked equally thoughtful. Arck however looked completely calm and was the one to break our silence with an idea.

"He can come and live with me Lotus. I have a spare bedroom and my apartment is on the ground floor of the living quarters, this way he would always be within reach of a Tenno he is familiar with as well as ensuring he doesn't have to learn how to navigate the upper floors of the living quarters"

Both Lotus and Chellia seemed to like the idea as they thought it over and Chellia actually joked about Arck never having had anyone living with him to which Arck said that he usually found certain company annoying. Lotus broke their little banter when she spoke

"Thank you Arck, that solves our problem just fine. Perhaps you should simply lead him there now and show him around at the same time? We can always return to my questions once everything has settled down"

Arck nodded and stood up before gesturing for me to follow him. I stood up and bowed to Lotus and Chellia while saying goodbye to which they both smiled and said 'see you later' and then I was out of the door following Arck.

The Tenno base is astounding. The entire place seems alive with the way the halls flow with each other and every so often we enter a large open area that contains running water and vegetation. Some places are built as gardens but I quickly realize that other places actually seem to be used for farming purposes. I reach out and touch one of the low hanging leaves and find myself surprised by how soft it is, nothing like the leaves back on earth.

We soon found ourselves in the living quarters and Arck guided me to a door numbered "00010" with his name written right below it. He opened the door with a key code and led me inside. He gave me a small tour which revealed the living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. Every room was of course fully furbished and what would become my room had a bed, closet and a desk with a chair.

The bathroom looked astoundingly a lot like a regular bathroom from earth, just a lot more clean and streamlined I guess. The kitchen was much the same only I couldn't recognize half the appliances that were in there so I quickly resigned myself to either let Arck do all the cooking or be in for a long learning period. The last room would be the living room which to my surprise was furbished with a sofa, two chairs a table and then the walls were lined with bookshelves filled with what looked like ancient books.

The corner of the living room however held the item of most interest to me, Arck's Warframe. The Rhino looked imposing from my position and I felt fearful simply standing in the same room as it. The entire thing looked like and was colored the same as it was in the game so it didn't take my brain long to imagine just what sort of damage that thing could do if it's abilities are the same as well. Arck took a seat in one of the chairs and gestured for me to take the other.

"So Marc, we will be living together here from now on. I don't have many rules but expect the few I have to be obeyed. The first and simplest one would be not to touch my Warframe without permission"

I nodded, that seemed both obvious and simple

"You can take whatever food you like from the kitchen, I will teach you how to operate the various appliances later. If you wish to go outside I will need to escort you but we will be doing a full tour of the base later anyway"

I nodded again, simple rules to follow

"Now for the last and most important rule, watch out for whom you talk with and let in here. Anyone you think even looks the slightest bit suspicious, which by my guess is everyone, don't let them in. Those are the rules, any questions?"

I shook my head "No questions. Simple rules that are easily followed. This entire place scares me shitless anyway so not like I would dare do anything" I said

Arck nodded about the same time as a knock sounded on the door that he went to answer. He returned moments later and told me we would be returning to the medical department now for my test results.

The walk back only reaffirmed my belief that this place was amazing. The entire place was incredibly fascinating for me, especially since Warframe is one of my favorite video games so walking around here is a nerdy dream come true.

We reached the medical department and I was once more led into the waiting room where I had spoken with Arck, Lotus and Chellia earlier. We didn't have to wait long as Lotus soon stepped into the room alongside Alcor, Crawa and Sivra. Once all three had sat down Alcor brought out a stack of papers and looked at me.

"Well Marc your tests are done and I must say you are a most fascinating specimen. Your physiology is not much different from our own, you have a few extra things here and there that we might have evolved from or perhaps never had. Your body is, as you said, in bad physical condition but nothing that can't be fixed with some exercise. I would like to have you come back every so often for regular checkups and further tests" said Alcor

Alcor sounded extremely pleased with his tests, his smile on reaffirmed his happiness. I didn't know how to fell about having to come back here but I figured he would never have a chance to study an ancient human again so I couldn't see the harm.

"But everything else aside I simply cannot tell you how you will adapt to being here. Your structure is quite different so I guess only time will tell" said Alcor

I nodded. I guess I am going to have to find something to occupy my time while I live here, aside from being a test subject and Lotus personal answering machine to her questions. I might be able to find something to help out with around here, maybe I should help with the gardening? I mean my grandmother did always want to teach me how to do that so might be a time to learn. I was about to say something when I felt a small pain in my chest right next to my heart, it felt like nothing more but a short poke so I ignored it and turned towards Lotus.

"So Lotus I guess now would be as good a time as any to answer some more of your questions. Ask away and I will answer to the best of my abilities" I said with a smile

Lotus practically beamed at my suggestion, I guess she is really eager to learn about the past.

"What an excellent idea! I have so many questions but I will need some time to compile them in order so I that I will be getting the most out of your answers" she said

I gave a small laugh at her frantic speaking, as did the other people present. I guess I would have the rest of the day to explore and look around, so now would be a good a time as any to ask Arck to show me around.

"Well Arck it seems I have been given some free time, could we take th…."

The pain from a few moments returned, at first it was just mildly uncomfortable but it quickly turned into excruciating pain. I didn't even have time to scream as my mouth opened in a silent yell and my vision darkened as I slipped into unconsciousness.

**Third Person Point of View**

For Arck time seemed to slow down as Marc began falling forward. His trained reflexes allowed him to catch him before he hit something. Alcor and Crawa sprang into action seconds later as they Alcor began checking Marc over while Crawa opened a com link to the nurses

"We need Observation room C ready now! And prepare Operation room B for potential emergency operation!" yelled Crawa

Once Alcor had cleared Marc for transport Arck lifted him up and carried him to the observation room where he was placed on a bed. Alcor once more checked his heart rate. Marc's pulse was going unnaturally fast, as if his heart tried to hammer out of his chest. His face was losing color by the second and it wasn't a good sign. When Alcor opened his eyes they were rolled into the back of his head, another bad sign.

"Alcor what is happening to him?!" Yelled Lotus

"I don't know yet. From his rapid loss of color I can only assume bleeding, but since he has no external wounds he must somehow be bleeding internally. The only problem is I only know how his body is build up from the scans, we haven't gotten a full internal scan yet so I can't tell what will happen if I try and open him up to identify the source of the bleeding, I might make it worse for all I know" replied Alcor

Crawa had been on his communicator the entire time and suddenly seemed to have an idea.

"Alcor lets move him into the scanner, perhaps we can see the problem there!" yelled Crawa

Alcor nodded and Marc was quickly transported into the scanner room and placed in the machine. Sivra was standing there ready to operate the machine as soon as Marc was in place. No words were spoken between the three leaders of the medical department. They had all worked together for so long that their teamwork had become second nature.

As the scanner began its work Alcor turned towards Arck and began asking about the places they had been before coming here. Arck answered immediately

"We went directly from our meeting with Lotus to my quarters where I showed him around. We were then ordered back here and we took the exact same route back here as we took before. There was no point in time where he could have come into contact with anything that would cause an infection"

Alcor ran that over in his mind before he spoke

"Perhaps not infectious for us, but remember his physiology is completely different from ours, for all we know his might not be able to handle the air itself"

As he spoke a light seemed to have gone off inside Alcor's mind, Crawa seemingly had the same thought as they looked at each other before nodding and Alcor spoke.

"His body has a set of lungs indicating a need for air, we knew this already but what could potentially be different about our air from his own?" asked Alcor to everyone present

Lotus quickly realized the problem

"Alcor he says he is from Hayden Tenno's time that would mean he used to live on earth. His body is used to the oxygen on earth which didn't contain anything but oxygen. Our oxygen is laced with antibodies as well as nanites to ensure that we are always healthy and ready to deploy for mission"

Alcor didn't need to see the scan result to figure out what was wrong and neither did Crawa as he spoke before his colleague.

"His body is rejecting the antibodies! How did we not think of this before? Those antibodies are specifically designed to only work with Tenno physiology and DNA" said Crawa

Alcor's eyes suddenly widened as a look of horror came upon his face "Oh no… the nanites… they might see his DNA structure as a virus and attempt to purge it!"

The scanner finished just as Alcor had spoken his fear and everyone dreaded the result. To their horror both Crawa and Alcor turned out to be right. The antibodies were working in reverse inside Marc's body and the nanites were attempting to destroy his body while Marc's own body was trying to expel both foreign objects from itself. The insane amount of stress was causing his entire body to break down.

Everyone tried to come up with a way to fix it but it was Crawa who silenced everyone when he held up his hand asking for silence.

"I have an idea that could potentially work, mind you that it is just as liable to kill him as to save him" said Crawa

"Let's hear it Crawa, we have to do something" said Lotus

Crawa nodded "We could attempt to merge Marc's DNA with our own. Fool the nanites into thinking he is in fact a Tenno, maybe with our DNA present in his system the antibodies will also be accepted by his body"

Lotus looked doubtful alongside Arck and Sivra, Alcor however had a thoughtful look on his face that remained there for a while before he spoke.

"It could work. But if we do this it won't be a case of adding a small amount of our DNA to his, we have to change his entire DNA map by fusing the two together thus making him hybrid. We cannot risk his body rejecting the new DNA as well, so this is our only option" said Alcor

Alcor looked to Lotus for permission and got with a nod. He quickly ordered Crawa to begin mapping out Marc's DNA so the fusion could be done. Just as he was about to set out to find a suitable donor for Marc, Arck stepped forward and offered his own DNA. Knowing they were pressed for time Alcor accepted and let Arck to another room to prepare.

The word spread like wildfire through the Tenno base and soon enough every avaivable Tenno had showed up down in the medical department, hoping to see the birth of the first hybrid or the death of the last Human. The procedure was done in record time, three hours was all it took for Alcor, Craw and a team of the best medics the Tenno had to transplant Marc's DNA.

Marc was then placed into a closed room and put on watch. All there was left was to see if a human died or a hybrid was born.

**10 hours following the procedure**

Marc's numbers began stabilizing. His heart calmed down and some of the antibodies began taking hold inside his system.

**21 hours following the procedure**

Marc's skin began paling at a rapid pace, it soon resembled that of the Tenno. The Nanites in his body reversed their actions and now began working on repairing all the damage they had done to his body.

**48 hours following the procedure**

Marc's skin is completely pale. His eyes changed color to match the dark blue of his donor Arcks. His hair maintained its shape but it's color also changed to match that of Arck, thus making it a dark brown. All the antibodies have taken hold and are working in tandem with the nanites to ensure Marc now remains at perfect health. The procedure is declared a success and Marc is declared the first Tenno/Human hybrid.

**My point of view**

My consciousness slowly returned to me and I felt my eyes flutter open. I feel different, I feel good almost perfect to be completely honest. It is as if my entire body is in perfect condition despite me knowing it is most certainly not. The lights of the room are dimmed but I can still make out the layout of the room. My eyes begin taking in the smallest details around me and I soon notice that my eyesight actually seems…better. I began rubbing my eyes as I felt tired and that is when I noticed it, my hands, they are pale unnaturally so they looks just as pale as… a… Tennos… no…

Terror grips my heart as I throw the covers off me and begin inspecting my body and I am indeed pale as a Tenno no matter where I look. I look around franticly in the room until my eyes land on a mirror and I jump out of bed and sprint for it, ignoring the fact that I literally jumped out of my bed.

When I reach the mirror and look into it I don't recognize the face I see. Gone were my previously gray-green eyes and light brown hair, replaced by a set of dark blue eyes and dark brown hair. The terror that had gripped my heart dissipates as unholy rage takes its place as I punch the mirror smashing it into hundreds of pieces. To my own surprise I feel no pain, looking over my hand I find that I haven't even been wounded despite the fact I just smashed a mirror and should have had at least a few cuts.

My anger slowly gives way to confusion as I try to recall what the hell happened to me earlier but my last memory is of talking with Lotus and Arck about something and then… nothing. My thoughts are broken when I hear the sound of the door opening. I see Sivra step through the door and a smile unconsciously makes its way onto my face.

"Good you are awake, we feared you might never wake up" said Sivra with a smile

Her tone was quite cheery which only served to confuse me even further. A question pops into my mind and before I can give it thought my mouth opens

"What. The. Hell. Happened?"

The tone is darker and harsher then I wished it to be but at the moment I really couldn't give five fucks about my choice of tone. Though to Sivra's credit she didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest, she almost seemed to have been expecting it.

"You collapsed two days ago. Your body was rejecting the antibodies that float in the air of the base. At the same time the nanites we had injected you with to make you understand us were trying to destroy your body in the belief that it was virus" said Sivra

Confusion gives way for curiosity as one dominant question comes to mind.

"How did you save me?"

The smile that had been on her face grows smaller as her eyes take on an almost apologetic look.

"We fused your DNA with outs, that way the Nanites and Antibodies would think you are a Tenno and begin working for your body rather than against it. You are now officially the first Tenno/Human hybrid"

I feel like I have been physically struck as my legs give out from under me and I crumble to the floor and start shaking madly. Sivra was at my side in seconds to try and see if something had gone wrong. Nothing was wrong, at least not physically. Mentally I might be broken for life but how else would you react to being told that you are now a mix between two species.

"How?" I ask in a shaky voice

"Arck donated his DNA for the operation. It took a while but your body eventually accepted the new DNA and your physical form began to change to accommodate the new DNA. It of course also ensured that the antibodies and nanites now can function in your system" replied Sivra with a smile

The first tear fell without warning and soon they fell down both my cheeks without sound. I didn't cry out like I perhaps should have, I merely sat there and felt my tears fall. Partially because I was happy over my survival and partially because I was afraid of what I had become. Everything however seemed to come to a standstill as Sivra wrapped her arms around me and drew me into a gentle hug. I didn't return it but it did allow her to make me stand up and lead me over to the bed where she got me to lie down as she went out and got the Lotus, she had wanted to be informed as soon as I awoke.

I sat in silence until it was broken by the door opening once more to reveal the form of Arck. Our eyes met and I saw something in them that I hadn't expected among them were concern and fear, but there was something else there something I didn't recognize.

"So you are awake. I feared that your body might reject my DNA but it seems your body has gained acceptance to it. I guess that means there is no way around it, now we are brothers. At least in the biological term"

Arck said it all with a smile that I returned. He was right, I guess in a way we are now brothers. I guess that means I have two brothers now, one on earth and one in the Warframe universe… my life is getting stranger by the minute.

"I guess that is true. Think you can handle living with your brother? I know how much trouble I had living with my older brother when we were young" I joked

Arck gave a small chuckle "I think I can take it. I'll have to look out for you anyway to ensure that there are no drawbacks to the procedure. We don't know how your body will take all the changes after all"

I nodded and gave a silent thank you in my mind. The door opened once more to reveal Lotus accompanied by a few other Tenno among them was Alcor, Craw and Chellia. Lotus gave me a gentle smile as she spoke

"Well Marc it would seem you are now even more unique than when you arrived. Welcome to the ranks of the Tenno"

And this it all beings anew inside my head; I wonder how this is going to turn out.

**2 years later**

Two years passed in the blink of an eye. So many things have changed and so many more took place. Most of the Tenno now call me Echo due to a joke someone made about me being an echo of humans and Tenno. My body began changing as well… no not a second puberty (thank you lord jesus for that one) but my body began thinning without me doing anything. I learned from Alcor that my body was refitting itself to my new DNA, as it turned out I wasn't actually getting stronger or anything my body was simply removing all the excess fat I had on my body leaving me only with what muscle I had.

Arck's and my relationship have improved tremendously as well; we are now like actual brothers and look out for each other as such. When he isn't on missions or doing something else he is teaching me everything he knows about the Tenno and various forms of combat. He keeps going on and on about it being for my own safety, he worries too much these days. But having him around acting like an overprotective brother did me good, I missed my own brother and parents something so fiercely so having him around helped me out a great deal.

Right at this moment I am walking through a special part of the Tenno armory. This area is designed for young Tenno to come and select what Warframe they wish to pilot when they pass their test. It is for that reason I am here today, Arck and Lotus are of the belief that is should be able to pilot a Warframe due to my Tenno DNA.

Looking around I am not surprised to see a few other Tenno in here. The test itself is only a month away so it is turning out to be last call to make your choice. Surprisingly all the Tenno that are here are around my age. As that is when you make your choice it seems.

My personal life also took an interesting spin. Sivra and I began dating a year back; we had gone out a couple of times before and had hit it off quite well. She found me very interesting through she wouldn't tell me what part it was; I figured it was the whole hybrid thing. I don't know where we are heading but I am hoping for the best.

I keep walking up and down the hall staring at all the different Warframe standing on display. Arck told me that the Warframe choses the operator just as the operator choses the Warframe. I have gotten mixed opinions on what I will end up using, Sivra says I have the mindset of a Volt or Loki while Arck thinks I would do well as a Frost. Lotus thinks an Excalibur is more my thing and a few passerby's joked that I fit the Valkyr Warframe perfectly.

I don't really lean towards one Warframe myself but I will admit I have hopes for some and less interest in others. I end up passing by most of the Warframes while feeling their material and just their general feeling. I passed by the Rhino and gave it a short stare, this was Arcks Warframe and a small part of me wished to use it as well. I reached out and ran my hand across the chest and when I passed over the area that would guard my heart I felt my own beating faster and faster. Anticipation was building in me as I kept inspecting the Rhino and soon enough I realized that this was my choice, nothing else would do.

I made my way back to Arck's and I quarters. I greeted plenty of Tenno on the way and even stopped for a chat with some of those I had grown close to. One of those Tenno was Chellia, the Tenno I had shared a cell with two years ago. Now she was one of the few people I trusted and went to for advice, though with Chellia it was mostly for advice regarding Sivra.

I actually ran into Sivra on my way back and gave her the quick version of my choice to which she smiled and told me she was proud of me for finding out, she gave me a quick kiss and began running towards the medical department. Today was a big day after all, one of the nurses had been pregnant for a while and today she had finally gone into labor and Sivra had been chosen to deliver the child.

When I reached our door I punched in the code and stepped inside. Removing my jacket I hung it on the hanger and walked into the kitchen with a sigh, I was actually quite tired and looked forward to going to bed early. I grabbed a glass of water and stood in silence to contemplate my words for when I spoke to my brother.

I didn't think of anything in the end and decided to just run it by ear. As I came up to the living room (which for some inexplicable reason was at the _end_ of our hallway) I heard voices, two to be exact. One belonged to Arck and the other I recognized as belonging to Eryna, a Banshee Operator that my brother had been dating for the past two years. I didn't catch the last words being said but the following squeal and repeated yell of 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' led me to one very easy solution.

'_So my brother finally gathered up the courage to ask her, good for them'_ I thought as I came to the living room. I leaned in the door and watched as Eryna was in the process of attempting to eat my brother's face, an amusing thing to witness but I also knew that it had the potential to evolve into something that would mentally scar me for life so I coughed in the most dramatic fashion I could.

"*COUGH* Sorry to interrupt guys but this is quickly turning R rated and I really don't wish to see that" I quipped

Eryna quickly detached from my brother and tackled me to the ground with a bone breaking hug. I of course returned it with a gentle smile and once we had both stood up she showed me the ring my brother had just presented her with.

"Look! Isn't it amazing! Ohh I can't believe you actually helped him do this!" half-yelled Eryna

Of course I had helped my brother prepare this. No one proposed like that among the Tenno, it was a long dead tradition that I had spoken to Eryna about. Eryna as it turned out was a huge fanatic about anything human and once I had begun talking about weddings she had been completely mesmerized and right there I knew I had put Arck in rather tough spot.

So I talked to him and taught him how humans used to propose and how he should do it when he finally got around to asking Eryna. I however didn't help him pick the stone or the ring itself as that is an extremely personal thing. Eryna eventually gave space for Arck whom I gave a hug and congratulations.

We all eventually got ourselves seated once again, with me in a chair and the happy couple in the sofa. A small silence was allowed to reign as the two enjoyed their newfound engagement. Arck however seemed to remember just why it was I was out of the apartment today.

"So Marc have you finally picked a Warframe?" he asked

I flashed him a brilliant smile and nodded "You bet. It seems your DNA has done a lot because I felt an instant connection with the Rhino"

Arck's grin somehow got wider as he detached from Eryna long enough to give me another hug and handshake. Of course Eryna wanted to give me a hug as well so my spine was allowed to get put under just a little more pressure (I swear that woman has the strength of a hundred). The rest of the afternoon was spent in their company while we discussed the various parts of the Rhino and its utilities. Eryna pitched in with her knowledge as a Banshee Operator and how the two Warframes could work together.

Eventually Eryna had to get home or rather leave to tell a few select people about her engagement, something I suspected would mean Arck and I would have a lot of guests tomorrow. One she was out the door Arck and I retreated into the living room and sat down and enjoyed the silence. I had a happy smile on my face since today had truly been a memorable day.

"You do know she is going to force you to help her plan the wedding right?"

And of course my brother has to go and ruin my good mood!

**6 Years later.**

Ever killed before? Me neither, at least not until a few months ago. My training with the Rhino Warframe began almost as soon as I had officially announced my choice, and what a hell I went through. Over the years following my choice I went through the toughest training I have ever had to endure, a whole new mentality had to be put in place for me to even work with Warframe at a functional level, it took me a few years but I got a hold of it eventually. Then it happened, I was sent on my first assignment, alone.

Fresh out of training and only limited understanding of what my Warframe could actually do I was sent out alone to take care of a small Grineer station, according to the reports there were only fifteen Grineer on the station which wouldn't even be enough to break down the Iron Skin of my Warframe before I would have managed to clear the entire thing. But I was not ready for what I was about to do, it all started okay really, I made my way aboard the ship and fairly quickly I cornered one of the Grineer and took his weapon, but right there as I was about to kill him, something inside my body decided to give in and I started sweating and shaking, every inch of my mind screamed at me to stop and not press the trigger, that what I was doing was nothing short of murder, he couldn't defend himself for Christ sake! But that is when it happened the first time… I felt something in the back of my mind, a presence that didn't belong there a hostile one, thanks to the reflexes that had been honed over the past five years I managed to avoid the blade that was aiming for the weak spot on my neck, and right there on pure reflex I turned around aimed my rifle and shot the Grineer straight through the forehead…

Something dies inside you when you make your first kill… the last act of defiance of whoever you kill, they take just a small amount with you I guess you could call it the last of your innocence? The one little bit of you that still shines bright in the dark, it might just be me but that is what I think. The rest of the mission went more or less the same, almost every kill besides the ones that I made on combat reflex I had to stop and force my finger to press the trigger to kill anything… except the last one… I still remember it clearly, more so than anything else really, me standing over him fear visible in his eyes, and then the sound of a bullet leaving the barrel and the subtle sound of brain exploding, and just like that it was over. I don't know why I did it, but I gathered all fifteen bodies in front of my escape pod, I still remember taking off my helmet and getting bombarded by smells and the like… I also remember inspecting the corpses… fifteen corpses, fifteen wounds, fifteen kills, each and every one of them memorized… I don't know what came first, the scream or the tears but both were there that I can assure you, I don't know how long I sat still with tears falling, but after a while they dried out and I left that station behind, the first of many memories burned into my mind, and that is where it began… my decent into the dark reaches of my mind, right there on that day I stared down two paths, and I chose the one that led into the dark.

**16 Years later.**

As the years passed I got better and better at killing, slowly but surely I made my way into the ranks of the Tenno and even managed to garner a bit of a reputation for someone so "young". I swear when I found out that a Tenno lives to be two thousand? And that my brother was one thousand one hundred and thirty eight years old? See those two I dealt with just fine, and then I learned that Sivra was… older… a good nine hundred years older than me to be exact, now that I didn't deal with especially well, let's leave it at me spending quite a few hours alone in my room staring off into nothing. But as I let the years slide by everything turned out a lot better than what I had expected, the killings became easier to deal with, though the feeling in my gut never went away after each kill, according to Arck that feeling isn't supposed to go away, and if it ever does I would have become something far worse than what I fight.

**53 Years later.**

Memories… how I grew to detest them. Tenno have perfect memory, so everything I knew before the DNA surgery is now permanently burned into my mind, as is everything I have done since then. Seventy seven years later, and I remember it all… So much happened in that time, I changed a lot mentally at least. I started working in the engineering department alongside some of the smartest Tenno to have ever lived, we started on a project together "The Alpha-Frame", a work of genius really, combining multiple Warframes into the same frame, thus making the Tenno operating it virtually capable of adapting to any situation. Arck keeps telling me that I need to be careful with it, same as Sivra keeps saying but I mostly ignored them at the time, I didn't see a reason to be careful.

**80 Years later.**

"So. How did it feel?"

"The change needs to go a lot of quicker Trekon, at this rate we leave the operator way to exposed in the period of change, other than that? It worked like a charm, it has taken us eighty years but we finally have a functioning prototype"

Trekon simply smiled at me and left me alone once I had taken off the Alpha-Frame, that thing truly is amazing, with its ability to change between so many different Warframes allowed me to take down an entire Grineer research station without problem, hell the entire station didn't know I was there until half of them were already dead.

After living for a hundred and seventy seven years I really have changed a lot, same goes for my combat style. We recently recovered an ancient Tenno weapon, it's a Katana named "Nikana" damn thing is amazing, I have yet to come across something it can't cut. I train with the blade whenever I get the chance, and I have even gotten a few jokes from some people that I am more attached to this weapon then I am to my wife… Yeah me and Sivra married a few years ago, I don't know what triggered it really, but I still remember sitting in our sofa and talking and then out of nowhere I asked without really thinking about it, and she agreed. Arck nearly died from laughter when he heard how it went down, but I myself couldn't see the humor in it, but I can't see the humor in most things anymore.

**125 Years later.**

Looking at the casket burning I can still feel her hand on my cheek…

"Hey brother, how are you holding up?"

I glance up at Arck, he has been giving me a lot of space now that Sivra is dead, I guess he feels somewhat guilty since it was his idea that Sivra and Eryna came along with us to the Void to look for some more schematics. I don't blame him, my own weakness caused the death of my love.

"I am fine Arck. You should go home to your family"

He looked like he was about to argue but closed his mouth and walked off. I left a few hours later, having never shed a tear over my lost love… no my tears had long since dried out. Instead of mourning like I should have done I did something else, I tracked down the biggest Grineer colony I could find and then I went and retrieved the Alpha-Frame and went on my way.

It became a story that would be told among the Tenno for many generations, the tale of "The Bloody Echo"… the tale of how one Tenno in his anger and grief went down to a Grineer settlement and slaughtered over six hundred people alone, and returned with nothing on his Warframe but the blood of his victims. I didn't speak when I came back, after that in fact I rarely spoke at all, silence became my constant companion and impassiveness my friend and I stopped caring…

**51 Years later.**

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean where would you go? How will you survive?"

Glancing up at my brother's wife, I give her an impassive stare.

"Who said I was intending to survive this trip?"

I felt the slap coming, yet I didn't move nor did I flinch when the hand impacted my face, Eryna was in tears and yelling at me calling me irresponsible and careless. Today is the day I leave the Tenno behind, I can't take it anymore I hate being here, now I leave whenever I can for whatever mission they will give me. Walking over to my ship I look over its side, seeing the name engraved on the side "Shadow", and it truly is, outfitted with the newest stealth technology and a fully functional engineering compartment, this ship will get me going for a good while.

Feeling a new presence entering the docks I look over and see the Lotus enter with a small container in her hand, as she approaches I kneel.

"Rise Echo, you know that much like your brother you don't need to kneel to me, where is he now where I think of it?"

"At his home Lotus, he believes that this trip is foolish and that I will get myself killed. Have you come to see me off Lotus?"

Lotus looked sadly at me for a few seconds, she still feels bad for what she in her own words "have turned me into", she is referring to the way I have become since Sivra dying, I don't hold her responsible for my own choices.

"Yes, and to grant you one more gift for your journey, one that hopefully will bring you back home to us safe and sound, since you decided to leave your Rhino behind for this little trip of yours…"

She hands me the container and as I open it I look up at Lotus with a passive look in my eyes and my mind.

"The Alpha-Frame, Lotus? Not that I don't appreciate the gift, but taking this won't we be setting the engineering department back hundreds of years?"

Not a second later did I feel the Lotus body pressed against my own as she hugged me, I felt the warmth spread across my body and for the first time in a long time I returned a hug.

"Your survival is more concerning than how much the engineering department will have to work over, you just come back safe and sound to all of us"

Nodding I gave a wave to Eryna who waved back with tears in her eyes, the Lotus stepped over and pulled her into a hug, comforting her and leading her away at the same time. When they were both out of sight I stepped up to the doors of my ship and opened them.

"You can step out of the shadows now Borth, I can feel your presence clear as day. Come to give me another goodbye have you?"

Slowly a Loki Warframe steps out of cloak and walks up to me, putting his hand out for me to shake, I grab hold and give my old friend one last handshake before he and I will be separated for a long time.

"Yeah… You come back ya hear? I aint losing my best friend because you forgot to refuel or some stupid shit like that"

I give him a court nod and he starts heading out of the hangar as well. Entering the ship I walk over and press a button on the dashboard, a small sound lets me know that I have company.

"_Operator Echo, all the necessary preparations have been made for your flight. Do you wish to depart?"_

Glancing back out the door once final time I take in what little I can of the Tenno base before I turn out again.

"Yeah… Let's get out of here Eva"

"_Departing…"_

As the ship roars to life I sit down in the pilot chair and see as we make our way out among the endless number of stars.

**4 months after depature.**

Four months of flying, four months of killing any Grineer or Corpus stations I could. It has gotten tiring to deal with these guys all the time, but I have to none the less. During my flight I have done nothing but keep my skills sharp with my sword and my knowledge in engineering intact. But something has been keeping my mind from focusing on the enemy for the past few days, that flicker I see in the world… just like when I was pulled here to the Warframe universe almost three and a half centuries ago. It's always the same, this hulking monstrosity of an object appears in my field of vision and the next it is gone, whatever I am actually about to pass over into a new world or my paranoia simply have gotten the best of me I really do not know…

Hitting the next sector it happens once more, only this time a hell of a lot of stronger than before, I can actually feel my body split between worlds for a fraction of a second, whatever small part of me that still feels love for Arck and Eryna back home jumps into gear and I start franticly writing a message to them, as I finish and send the message on its way I feel the final pull begin, the raw pressure on my body makes me black out.

* * *

"…oice! Focus on my voice!...You ha… cus…"

What the hell? Who's voice is that, I have heard it somewhere before… argh my head is too foggy… can't focus….

"No! Stop! Don't think, just focus on my voice and only my voice! Listen it's too late for me to control your shift, but I can direct it! I will aim as close as I can to sometime you will know!... Goddamnit I am losing you again! Listen… Eric … fi… ic… he know…. **Find him**!"

That is all I register before I feel my consciousness disappear once more and darkness consumes me. As I wake up I place my head in hands as I feel a massive headache, it's like someone tried to split it across with a Galantine and didn't finish the job… Looking out the window my eyes land on a giant space station, at first I didn't really recognize it, but soon enough my eyes fall upon a giant spaceship floating near the station and then my memory danced across my eyes and a name dropped from my lips

"The Citadel…"

**A/N: Right Chapter 2 is finished, minor changes for those of you who came here after the rewrite began, of course none for those of you who have just started reading after I started rewriting it, Welcome!**

**So things will pick up from here on, I hope some of you will like the changes I have decided to make, following a lot of comments and a few things I noticed myself I have decided to turn Marc back into the original idea I had for him, turning him into what you saw in the last half of this chapter.**

**PS: From now on "My point of view" Becomes "Marcs point of view" as Marc/Echo and I no longer share anything but name.**


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting back down I didn't even realize I had stood up. _'The Citadel… from Mass Effect… how in the hell'_ my mind was running a million miles per minute, I mean I kinda figured I was going somewhere new when I blacked out but… that voice, it told me to do something… to find someone _"'Find him!'"_ that is about all I can remember about it. Staring out the window onto the Citadel I feel a small lump in my throat, a thing I haven't felt in a long time. _'Just what the hell am I supposed to do here?'_ my mind ran towards helping Shepard but I don't see the point, I don't even know **when** I am right now for all I know I am staring at a Citadel that has never seen a human before… _'And if I stepped on they still wouldn't see one'_. Leaning back in my chair I start staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out a path of action to take… better start with cloak.

"Eva, engage Cloak and start moving towards the Citadel, also get me the date"

"_Understood Operator… Searching"_

Eva is my ships VI, she has been with me for almost a hundred years, I still think she is an AI and is just holding back on me in fear of me erasing her, but that is her irrational fear to deal with. Glancing back out onto the Citadel that is slowing getting closer my mind drops towards Shepard once again and I start entertaining the question of whatever it is a man or woman.

"_Search Complete, the current date is 2182. Anything else Operator?"_

"Search for any information on Commander Shepard"

"_Searching…"_

'_2182… so at least a year until Mass Effect even begins, this leaves me a little time to get familiar with the world, might even give me a chance to figure out what I want to do in this world'_ The potential is great, I could help Shepard beat the reapers or I could just do it myself, I know where everything is and a few good nods here and there and we can have the crucible build in half a year if not less. But doing this would also put everything in jeopardy, after all without the events of the games taking place a lot of peace treaties will never be signed, and who the hell knows what will happen with the Collectors?

"_Search Complete. Commander Sarah Montez Shepard, born and raised on various spaceships due to her parents' constant reassignments. Excellent service record, decorated with the Star of Terra for holding off a Batarian assault alone during the battle for Elysium. Multiple other military actions have earned her high praise from her superiors, and she is apparently being considered for the first human Spectre"_

"Thank you Eva"

Spacer, War Hero and "Montez"? You learn something new every day. For now the focus is going to be on surviving until then, I need to acquire a place to sleep besides my ship also I need to familiarize me with the standards of this world as well as the weaponry, much more so than what I already know from the games.

"Eva, is there any viable place to set down the Shadow in cloak?"

"_Searching… … … Search Complete. One suitable location found, a high end apartment complex in the area known as "The Presidium", the roof holds nothing and only a single entrance accessible through the pent house, this would make an ideal hiding location. This is a temporary measure and the Shadow should be moved again within a year"_

"Good, start heading there Eva, avoid anything you deem a detection risk"

"_The population will be a problem… two hundred and twenty centimeters tall, and pale as a ghost… that will draw attention. My clothes will stick out as well, I need to find a suitable set of clothes as soon as possible once I have landed, the way I look should eventually be ignored by the majority of the Alien population, I highly doubt anyone of them know enough about human culture to find my looks shocking"._ I watched as we approached the Citadel and entered their airspace, I was surprised by the sheer size of the Citadel in reality this place is huge and I am not surprised by the fact that someone could probably live their entire life on the citadel and still not have seen all of it. As we made our way into the Presidium I noticed a lot of places I knew, like the giant Krogan statue and the Citadel tower that houses the Council _'Bunch of Idiots'_.

After a while we finally arrived at the apartment building that Eva had told me about, and as we landed on the roof I noticed what she mean about high end, this place was elegant and even the roof looked like it cost more than your average apartment. Setting down I waited for the doors to pressurize and open up, when they finally did I stepped outside and got my first real look at the Citadel. A wave of nostalgia hit me like a hammer, for some reason I felt slightly at peace looking out over all the buildings and ship hanging by their docks, and if you looked towards the end you could see it, empty space. Turning towards the stairs that would lead me down into the pent house I start going towards it, as I reach the door I wait a few seconds before activating it and walking through _'No password? That's… convenient'_ stepping down the stairs I eventually reach another door, figuring this led into the apartment I leaned against the wall and started to focus.

Now have you ever heard of people being able to sense others in the room? It's common among martial arts people, you know that feeling you have that someone is either staring at you or is in your near vicinity? Yeah I have that too, only a lot stronger. For me it goes beyond just sensing I can feel people that are near me, when I first found this out I figured it was just from the large amounts of combat experience I had acquired, but when I asked Arck he said he had heard of people being able to sense others yeah, but actually feel them and be a hundred percent sure they were there? He had never heard of that. The way it works is simple really, when I focus I start picking up this feeling around me, try and picture a completely dark room and then imagine you have a set of heat vision goggles, now you can see roughly the outline of everyone in the room yeah? Well so can I. When I focus enough inside my mind these pillars of energy appear and they represent people, using this I have been able to determine how many people have been in any given area, as long as they were within fifty meters of me. So far vision has not been a requirement for me to feel someone. The ability has a lot of other uses too, just like a martial artist I too can feel anyone in my close vicinity, and it doesn't even have to be that close if you come within fifty meters of me I know you are there, I can't tell exactly where you are, but I know you are there and you can't hide from it, at least so far I have met no one who could.

Inside the apartment I could feel seven people, now funny thing about this ability? The "feeling" is different depending on your species, explaining what I feel is quite difficult, so just imagine it as each different species feeling like a different material, you know Infested feels like fur, Grineer like Metal and Corpus like water, that sort of thing. Inside I felt seven people, but there were three distinct signatures of energy, meaning I am facing three different species in there. As far as I can sense none of them are anywhere near the door, so I try and open it and much like the upper door this one isn't locked _'Who the hell leaves doors unlocked?'_ As I enter the small room I instantly see something that makes me back out of the door again, _'Blue Suns armor… Not good, if this is a Blue Suns base then I have a problem, staying here would only attract negative attention… Well killing them would help the general public and gain me a residence and an omni-tool'_ Agreeing with my own idea in my head I went back to my ship and put on my Alpha-frame. Now this frame is not much to look at, it looks like an Excalibur frame with a more square head and no face, it's completely black except for the joints that glow red, to be honest I look like the Stalker when I wear it. Grabbing my Nikana from the locker I take it out of its sheath and look it over, it still as sharp as ever.

I decided against changing the Alpha-Frame into anything else, figuring that I didn't need it to deal with a group of Blue Suns, if they even managed to react before most of them were dead. Stepping down in front of the door I closed my eyes and focused once more, all seven were still there and from what I could tell four of them were in the same room while two were in another and one was alone, I opted to go for the one who was alone. As I stepped out through the door I noticed the one who was alone was behind the door right in front of me, I walked over and stood next to the door and waited. A few seconds later I heard a toilet flush and the door opened, the guy who turned out to be a batarian didn't have time to react before I impaled him through the throat with my blade effectively silencing him, he dropped down and blood started pouring out of the wound, the batarian was already dead before he hit the ground. Moving over to another door I felt the presence of two behind that door, going for a surprise I opened the door and waited until one of the individuals in the room decided to speak

"Hey, who is there?" When no answer came "Jared I swear if you are pulling one of your stupid pranks I will shoot your dick off!"

I looked behind me and wondered if it was Jared lying there on the ground, I didn't care really I just wanted the other guy to come out here, and he did. As he stepped through the doorframe I brought my Nikana to his neck and took his head clean off, letting the blade fall down behind me I dashed into the room, before the last guy could react to my presence and the sudden beheading of his comrade I drove my blade into his stomach, when he grabbed it in an attempt to pull it out I grabbed both side of his head and snapped it to side breaking his neck with an audible crack. Looking over the two corpses I noticed that the one now missing his head was also a batarian and the one in front of me with a broken neck was human. That took care of two of the three different energy types I felt, meaning from what I know of the Blue Suns the last one is probably turian. Standing in front of the final door I closed my eyes and concentrated on the last four individuals, I felt two with the unknown energy signature (presumably Turian) and one with the signature of a batarian, and one human. _'Knock out one Turian for questioning, kill the remaining three… Engage Warframe: Rhino'_ I feel the Alpha-frame shift around my body, taking the form of the chosen Warframe. As the transformation finishes I move around a bit to check that everything is as it should be _'Everything feels right… Engage: Iron Skin'_ slowly a small layer of silver substance covers the Rhino in a protective coating which will hopefully absorb the majority of the shells I will be at the end of. Breathing in a few times I open the door and walk into the room, the silence in the room is thick enough for my Nikana to cut. Before anyone manages to react I knock one of the turians unconscious with the hilt of my blade, as the first shot gets fired I swing around and use the momentum to cut the second turian in half, as more bullets make contact with my Iron Skin I notice that they are already breaking through the rather thin layer of protection _'A thing to note for future use'_ stepping up to the batarian I simply bring my sword up and take off his head, now only the lone human remains. He didn't manage to do much more then stutter a few weak sentences and a few whimpers before finally blacking out from fear _'One hell of a Blue Suns member he is…'_ I place my blade right above his heart and drive it through.

Walking around the apartment I am trying to find something to bind the Turian with; eventually I do find a bit of metal coil that should function for my short term needs. After I finished binding the Turian with the metal coil I simply wait for him to wake up, it only took about five minutes. At first he was just mumbling all sorts of random things, then I realized that I didn't understand what he was saying at all _'Omni-tool translator… right…'_ walking over to the dead human in the room I remove his omni-tool and place it on my own arm.

"Eva, combine the two types of tech for me real quick, just make a raw combination nothing intricate"

"_Understood… Done"_

Walking over to the turian who was half awake I grabbed one of his fringes and pulled it to the side to the point where I thought it was going to brake, it woke him up.

"ARGH! What the hell are you doing?!"

He finally looked at me and I swear I thought I saw his scales lose color for a second. When he finally looked around the room and realized his position I started to speak.

"Answer my questions and maybe you will get to live. How many other Blue Suns know about this base?"

He looked skittish for a few seconds before he decided to answer

"None, me and the boys rented this place for ourselves for when we weren't on duty, we didn't tell anyone because those rats would come and try and take the place for themselves"

"How many months have you paid for?"

"Three more after this one, why?"

Bringing my Nikana to his throat I pushed the blade through and severed whatever held his head to his shoulders.

"No reason"

Wiping my Nikana of blood I started gathering the corpses and put them up on the roof, cleaning the blood from the floors would be done another day, for now I needed to go see whoever the landlord was and inform him of his new tenant.

* * *

I had dropped of the Alpha-frame, figured walking into the landlords office covered in blood was not such a good idea. Entering the office I saw a Turian sitting behind a rather large desk, he was busy messing with his Terminal, he didn't bother looking up until I made a not so polite coughing gesture.

"What do you want human?"

A small smile played across my lips, _'haven't been called human in a while'_ he seemed like he held the same reservations against humans that any other species does, but it also gave me a little hope that my pale skin didn't present much of a problem to other species, only other humans.

"Are you aware that your pent house was leased out to seven Blue Suns mercs?"

"What of it? They paid six months in advance; they can do whatever the hell they want for all I care"

"I see. I am here to inform you I have taken over their apartment, and will be staying there for the remaining three months they have paid for"

His eyes opened slightly more at my statement.

"And they won't have a problem with that?"

"Dead people rarely complain, and before you think of contacting C-Sec, let me tell you that **you** will be dead before they get here, so for the next three months I will be living in the pent house. Complaints?"

"None. Planning on paying rent once those three months are up?"

He asked with a little shaky voice, probably thinks I am going to kill him.

"Of course, I merely intend to make good use of the three months' worth of credits that have already been spent, at the end of those three months I will pay rent"

The landlord simply nodded and I turned and walked up to my new apartment. Time to clean.

**8 Months until Eden Prime**

Waking up in a real bed is… nice, preferable to waking up in a cot. I have been on the Citadel for almost two months now, for the majority of that time I have been staying in the apartment and using Eva to gather bits and pieces of information on various things, it seems the Blue Suns have quite the presence on the Citadel as it stands right now, as for the previous tenants of this apartment? Cleaning out the corpses was easy enough, dumping them somewhere down in the wards where no one would look for them, and if they were found then who even cares if seven Blue Suns are found dead?

Today I was planning to go acquire some new clothes; Tenno uniforms do stick out quite a bit. My earlier suspicion turned out to be correct as I walked on the streets I turned a few heads, but most of those were human, barely any of the other species decided to look at me. Of course the clothes were going to cost some credits, but that isn't a problem, the seven Blue Suns mercs had plenty of credits to their names on their accounts which Eva decided to "borrow" since they wouldn't be in any need of them. But there is simply no good clothing store anywhere on the Citadel; they all carry the same uncomfortable looking clothes that you see everyone in the game wearing. I was nearly ready to give up when I happened upon a small shop with the sign _"Earthly Commodities"_; it seemed like a better chance than any of the other shops. Entering the shop I noticed there was a lone cashier who turned out to be a young dark skinned girl with black hair held in two ponytails, she didn't look to be much older than eighteen. Much like my landlord she was deeply absorbed in something else, only for her it wasn't a terminal with possible business plans, her head was deeply burrowed in a copy of the rather explicit magazine "Fornax", now how the hell an eighteen year old human even got a hold of that I will never know, but stealing it from her parents seems like the most likely choice. I decided that the best way to get her attention was the same way I got the landlords attention, I coughed quite loudly. The magazine was back under the counter in a split second _'Good reflexes'_ the girl was looking somewhere near a tomato at this point.

"Y-Y-Yes? C-Can I help y-you?"

She didn't look me in the eyes, she didn't even try to, either from embarrassment or out of fear that the man that was reaching two head above her would kill her.

"I am looking for a set of clothes that fit a rather tall individual such as myself"

Her arms were shaking as all hell when she pointed over towards the corner of the shop, I nodded my head and thanked her and walked over towards the clothes. Standing over there I was surprised to find a set of jeans and some t-shirts and jackets that actually looked like they came from earth, I smiled a little to myself as I remembered the old times when I used to wear this kind of clothes every day. The price was a little steep but from what I understood it had to do with this being clothes that was only manufactured on earth now, and it was quite pricy to transport it to the Citadel. I made my purchases and changed in the shops changing rooms, the new set of clothes consisted of a classic combo, blue jeans with a white blank t-shirt, and a small black jacket to go over, all with a little modern twist so it didn't look completely out of place. Stepping out of the shop I started making my way towards my apartment. Walking down the street I placed my Nikana on my back, since I got the blade all those years ago I have taken to bringing it with me just about everywhere and walking around the Citadel is no exception, though I am quite surprised that C-Sec hasn't come looking for me over these two months, I mean how do they see someone carrying a sword around these days? Turning the corner that led me to the street where my apartment was at I stopped in my tracks.

"Took you long enough to catch up Officers, you have followed me since the clothes shop"

I can imagine the two officers' faces; they probably didn't expect to be caught, much less by a "human"

"I am sorry Sir, but we need you to turn around and face us" I did as they asked, they didn't even blink when they saw my face or complexion "The weapon you are carried will have to be handed over sir, we have no registered humans with a sword carrying license" The left turian with black clan markings put his hand forward in a _Hand it here_ motion. I took out my Nikana from it scabbard and pointed it in their direction.

"Anyone who tries to take my sword from me will find it stuck in their throat"

The reaction was immediate and understandable; both officers pulled out their guns and started to shout something about me having to put my hands up and get on the ground, I ignored them and simply side stepped and went behind the left turian before he could react and took my blade to his throat.

"Now I am under arrest, that much I am clear on. But as I said, try to take my sword and you will find it in your throat. So here is a deal, I will follow along to C-Sec and in turn you leave me with my sword and you don't lose a partner"

The last bit was aimed towards the other turian who shared the same black clan markings as the first one, meaning they were either brothers or something of the same arrangements. I noticed something in the eyes of the second turian though, when I threatened to take the first one's life more than just concern flared in his eyes, there was anger, fear, hatred and love?

"Or lose a lover, seems that would be more precise wouldn't it?"

I put my sword a little closer to the throat of the first turian, close enough so that if he moved a single muscle I would be drawing blood.

"Wait! Fine! If you come along peacefully then we will let you keep your sword! Just don't hurt him!"

"Forgive me if I don't trust you completely on that" He looked panicked as I brought the blade even closer, and then I lowered it and pushed the first turian into the other ones arms "But I will trust that you keep your word. Be warned though, if you try to remove this blade from my side, not even death will stop me from taking from you that which you hold most dear" I pointed my sword at the trembling turian in his arms. He nodded at me and made a gesture towards a street that would lead us to C-Sec.

* * *

'_Over three hundred years old… and my patience is still paper thin'_ I had spent a total of perhaps ten minutes inside the interrogation room at C-Sec before I was ready to get up and kill my way out _'Grand Master of the Tenno order… I am definitely honoring the title right now…'_ when the door finally opened I breathed a sigh of relief, then I noticed who had actually stepped through the door and that relief got replaced by annoyance.

"Mr. Vakarian"

I nodded to the ever so famous Turian with the ever so recognizable blue clan markings; he looked just like he did during Mass Effect, which was what I expected. I did however not expect to be meeting with Garrus at this point in time, or any point in time prior to the events of the games taking their beginning. He does look a little surprised that I know his name, but that doesn't surprise me. He walked over and placed my Nikana on the table, I had reluctantly given it up for registration when we arrived, though not without a warning that if this wasn't returned to me then C-Sec would be looking to hire **a lot**.

"Call me Garrus, Mr. Vakarian is my father, and you are?"

The smile on his way looked way too much business like for it to have ever been genuine; I imagine he was pulled in here by Pallin.

"Call me Echo"

Garrus let a scoff escape him

"Echo… alright, so care to explain why you threatened to kill a C-Sec officer, and why you are carrying a sword with you? Oh and before I forget, why we have absolutely no files on you what so ever?"

I shrugged

"I am new to the Citadel, and I didn't wish for anyone to know of my presence so there is your reason for lack of files, as for the sword? Well that is personal and I have no reason to tell you. And the C-Sec officer tried to take my sword from me, so I simply told them that anyone who tried to take it without consent from me would find said blade stuck in their throat"

Garrus stared at me for a good thirty seconds before he let out a long sigh.

"We are going to be here a while, want some coffee?"

'_Heh… there is the friendly Garrus I remember'_

"From C-Sec? You want me dead that badly?"

Garrus actually gave me a proper laugh at that and shook his head.

"I see what you mean, water?" I nodded "I'll be back in a minute"

He returned after a few minutes and placed a cup in front of me and sat back down, I guess he will want to know a few pieces of information, and he said we were going to be here a while, so that means I will not be allowed to leave until they get too bothered by me, I escape or I tell them what they want to know.

"So let's start with the sword itself, so far we haven't been able to even get it out of its sheath it seems to be locked, care to explain?"

"DNA Locked. It will only unlock once it is in my hands, this prevents the sword from being stolen"

Garrus nodded simply and glanced over the blade for a few moments, he then looked at me a little before pushing the sword over to my side of the table. I glanced down at the sword, knowing full well what he wanted me to do, I looked Garrus in the eyes and looked for permission, and he nodded in response. Gripping the sword the sheath recognized my DNA and released its locks, allowing me to bring out Nikana. Garrus looked like a kid at Christmas when he saw the blade itself, can't blame him really the thing is a work of beauty.

"Amazing craftsmanship, what is it made of?"

I put the blade back in its sheath and looked intently at Garrus.

"Sorry Garrus can't say, trade secret"

Truth is I don't even know completely myself, I have been able to forge something that was close to the Nikana in strength but I have not been able to match it completely yet, from what I understood it is because I am missing a rare element that can only be found in the very edges of the galaxy. Meaning it is completely out of my reach now. Right before Garrus was about to ask his next question an alarm started screaming across the entire C-Sec office.

"What is going on?"

I was the one who asked, and no sooner did the door open and a frantic Pallin stepped through.

"Vakarian leave him! The Turian councilor has been kidnapped by the Blue Suns!"

"What?!" Garrus yelled.

"Spirits Vakarian, get your ass moving!"

Garrus was out the door with Pallin within seconds, leaving me alone in the interrogation room. _'Sparatus was taken by the Blue Suns? What could they possibly gain from this?'_ once more removing Nikana from its sheath I placed the blade on the table and simply ran my restraints over it, cutting clean through the weaker metal. I walked out of the room and started making my way out of C-Sec _'Saving that idiot of a councilor would allow me to help Shepard later, perhaps even make him owe me a favor'_. Right as I reached the door I bumped into someone, that someone turned out to be Garrus, before he could say anything I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall and held him still, leaning next to his head I whispered.

"Listen to me Vakarian; I am going to save the councilor. If you want him to be safe then contact me on my Omni-tool and tell me where they have the councilor I will take it from there, if you don't want my help then that is fine as well, just remember this is your only chance for cooperation, I walk out that door I will take down C-Sec and Blue Suns alike to save the councilor, got it?"

Garrus looked at me angrily for a few seconds before nodding, I tapped a few things on my Omni-tool and send my information to Garrus, we then went our separate ways, I had to go get my Alpha-Frame.

* * *

It has been an hour since I left C-Sec, and I have yet to hear anything. From up here on the roof it is very obvious that there is something going on, there is too many Sky Cars flying around sporting C-Sec colors and alarms for someone not to notice. Eva informed me that a statement have already been given to the people about what has happened. _'Leave it to the council to somehow making the kidnapping of one of their own seem like a minor nuisance'_ I was almost ready to jump over the edge of the building just to do something when a Sky Car stopped right at the edge of the roof, the door opened and revealed Garrus inside.

"Get in, we have the councilors location, he is in a warehouse down in the wards"

I jumped inside and Garrus almost stepped on the speeder enough to step through the car itself. He seems more agitated by the thought of me helping, then by the fact that we have a kidnapped councilor on our hands.

"Fancy armor, missing a helmet though aren't you?"

I chuckled a little as I gave the command inside my head; a second later a helmet had formed over my head and a HUD was visible inside my helmet. After Garrus was done staring I disabled the helmet once more.

"Makes it easier to lead a conversation when I don't have a helmet on. So give me the details Garrus, what are we facing?"

Garrus gave a low growl.

"20 Blue Suns, all heavily Armed, the Warehouse is separated in two different sections, the councilor is held on the top floor in a closed room with only one entrance, if we attempt to go in through the roof we will be found out and the councilor killed, so far they haven't given any demands… What do you plan to do?"

I engaged my helmet when I saw the cluster of C-Sec cars in front of us gathered around a large building, I opened the door and looked down, the drop was far enough for my dampeners to take effect, right before I let myself drop out of door I turned to Garrus.

"Kill them"

I heard Garrus yell something as I fell, I blocked it out, I blocked everything out as I fell I barely even felt myself impacting with the ground, when I did I was already moving _'Engage Warframe: Loki'_ I felt the entire Warframe shift as I ran, the transformation synching with my movements so it changed the parts of the Warframe that wasn't touching the ground as I was running.

"Eva, give me a plan over the warehouse"

A few seconds later a map popped up at the side of my vision allowing me to maneuver inside the warehouse without getting lost. I reached the Warehouse after about a minutes worth of running, when I got there I had to bring all my focus on my ability to not get overloaded with the amount of people present, I felt too many different forms of presence in the surrounding area, it calmed down as I made my way to the backside of the Warehouse. Reaching the back wall I reached out and felt for any presence, I only found three who were on the level above me, everyone else was out of my reach, which meant they were most likely at the front of the warehouse.

"Eva, how thick is these walls?"

"_From the blueprints the walls are ten centimeters thick Operator"_

'_Would take too long to cut through with Nikana… Fuck this is going to drain me of energy. Warframe Switch: Excalibur'_ I felt the entire Alpha-Frame strain as it went from the Loki frame, back to neutral and then transformed into the Excalibur frame.

"_Warning: Energy levels at 50%" _

'_Fuck'_ looking up I estimated we were talking about thirty meters or so to get to the windows up there, breaking through them would be idiotic and counterproductive since I would like for them not to know I am here.

"Eva, any alternate entrances?"

"_On the east side of the building there is an opening from a ventilation shaft"_

I sprinted to the side of the building and found said vent, it was a good fifteen meters in the air, close enough to the ground for one super jump to reach it if I put a lot of power in it. Charging the jump I stood directly below the went and took out my Nikana, as the charge got ready I released the energy propelling myself into the air, as I reached the vent I grabbed hold of the bars and steadied myself. Getting in was simple enough, I cut through the bars with my Nikana and crawled in; the ventilation shaft was quite spacious, most likely due to the use of the warehouse. After crawling for a few minutes I stopped and closed my eyes, I can feel three people above me, but only two distinct forms of energy signature, meaning that it was two of one race in this case human, and the last one was Turian I recognized the signatures from earlier. _'The councilor and two humans guarding him, not too much trouble'_ a small sound rang through my helmet, indicating I was receiving a call, I closed off all sound from inside my helmet effectively soundproofing it before I accepted the call.

"Echo Responding"

"_Where the hell are you!?"_

'_Garrus…'_

"Inside, find a good spot where you can get a good shot, don't contact me again"

I disconnected the call and shut off my communicator. As much as I would like to think that twenty Blue Suns is just another set of bodies, we are talking weapons that my armor has never been hit by before, I don't know if my shield will even register the mass accelerated rounds they fire. After debating with my own mind for a few minutes I brought up the blueprint and found out that this ventilation shaft leads up to the next level, I made my way there though it proved a little more of a challenge then I originally thought, to crawl directly upwards in a closed duct without making sound, it proved an interesting challenge.

Crawling through the upper vents I eventually found myself above what I suspected to be the councilor and his two captors. In front of me was another vent opening leading into the room, I crawled forward and stuck my head out through the opening, _'Guess I was right, two humans and the turian councilor, both of them facing the door…'_ dropping down from a vent without making a sound? One of the easiest things I have ever had to do. A small plan jumped into my mind, and I started to charge a small Slash Dash after a few seconds I was ready and moved to the side of the two guards, when they both turned and realized I was there they raised their guns and I released my Slash dash. Now the way a Slash Dash works? You build up a small amount of energy in your legs and feet, and release it too propel yourself forward at high speed, utilizing a bladed weapon to cut anything directly in front of you, or to the left or right of you. In my case I needed to cut the two guards on my left, so I simply held my Nikana to the left of me and let the released energy propel myself forward and propel my Nikana through the two unfortunate victims. The dear councilor was sitting with his mouth agape; I'll bet a few credits that he hasn't seen anything like that before.

"Who *Cough* Who are you?"

Turning towards the councilor I turned on the voice distorter in my helmet, this little addition was added to the Tenno when we first started making deals with Corpus, though most "deals" ended in us killing them and taking whatever we were sent to "buy" from them, but the distorter was designed so that one Tenno could never be distinguished from their voice.

"**That does not concern you Councilor, all you need to know is that I am here to bring you out alive. Stay here until I or C-Sec comes to get you**"

I opened the door to the room and stepped out, closing and locking it behind me so the Councilor wouldn't get any stupid ideas about escaping on his own. Making my way down the stairs I come by two more Blue Suns guarding the entrance to the upper floor, neither got to react before their heads and bodies were separated. _'Two on the top floor, and two down here, that leaves sixteen more Blue Suns in the warehouse'_ Making my way down another corridor I came to a door, standing in front of it I focused on the room beyond, I felt sixteen distinct signatures, too many for me to tell who was what race, but I felt all three present, Batarian, Turian and Human.

"Garrus"

"_Finally! What the hell is going on in there?"_

"The councilor is safe on the upper floor, there is only the sixteen inside the warehouse itself, the office part has been cleared, tell C-Sec to come in firing once they see a bright light"

"_Bright Light?"_

"Trust me, you'll know"

I closed the com and made my way inside the big storage area of the warehouse, hiding behind a few crates it was easy to make out their composition, about four guys close to the doors, then a group of six and another group of six, a simple setup without any major strategic plan in mind. _'Sneak along the side, enter in the middle and gather their focus on me, fire a Radial Blind, in the chaos kill the six in the back and then escape through my point of entry, leave the rest to C-Sec'_

"Garrus, is C-Sec ready to breach?"

"_Yeah they just finished setting the charges, whatever you are going to do, do it fast"_

I didn't need more incentive, sneaking along the wall was easy enough, the Blue Suns are not known for their detection skills. Reaching the point where I had the fastest route to the middle I breathed in three times and stormed forward, the six at the back saw me instantly and started firing, which then brought the attention of the remaining ten, when I knew that at least twelve of them looked at me and raised my sword in the air and released the built up radial blind, which depleted my power cells down to 5% _'More than enough for this'_ under the guise of the blinding light I heard the explosion go off and C-Sec started their breach, I stormed to the back and went for the first visible enemy, that being a turian I cut off his legs and used the momentum to spin around while going forward, allowing me to take off the head of the human or batarian next to him, keeping my sword in motion I brought it over my head and slashed downward, removing the arm of another human/batarian, with the helmets it really wasn't to tell. This left three more enemies standing, lucky for me two of them were shoulder to shoulder, allowing me to pierce Nikana through both of their middle sections, from what I felt I snapped the spine of the one in the back and ruptured the stomach of the first one, the final one had started firing at me after regaining his senses, before I could even act on the gunfire his head exploded, moving past the corpse towards the upper floor I could almost hear Garrus _"Scoped and Dropped!"_. Getting up to the councilor I didn't stop moving towards my exit while I spoke.

"**C-Sec will be here in a second Councilor, you are safe now**"

And up the vent I went. When I finally got back out and landed on the ground I was met with twenty pairs of weapons pointing in my direction.

"Stop! Drop your weapon!"

I placed Nikana back on my hip and put up my hands, the first C-Sec agent who came over and tried to put me in cuffs I recognized, the Turian with the black clan markings. When he was close enough and reached out with his hand I grabbed a hold of it and turned him around, putting his head in a lock that easily allowed me to snap his neck.

"**Are we really doing this again**?" I looked over the crowd and found his partner "**Hey you! You know how this goes, get these idiots to stand down or you are one partner short!**"

I could see the realization in his eyes when I spoke, and just before he had a chance to retort, a voice rang out through all the C-Sec units.

"Lower your weapons! This man helped save the Councilor"

It was Pallin, apparently the Turian councilor had been quick to point out that I not be captured, simply brought to the council chambers so he could speak with me. Everyone did lower their guns, but I didn't release my hold on my turian hostage, looking down I could see that this time the fear in his eyes was more evident that when I was holding him at swords length, his partner walked towards me slowly.

"We lowered our guns, now release him!"

"**Funny. You seem to think you are in a position to give orders, one wrong move from anyone here and I crack this one's neck. You want him safe? Bring a Sky car around driven by Garrus Vakarian, if I am going to the Council chambers it's with someone I trust, however miniscule that trust is**"

A few eyes shot up when I mentioned Garrus name, but I figured that would be the case, a man who just killed nine Black Suns on his own suddenly ask for Garrus Vakarian? A Turian known for breaking the rules to get the job done. After a few seconds most everyone backs off, looking down on the Turian in my grip he seems a little too relaxed.

"**You do realize I will kill you the second I smell something funny right?**"

The Turian started shaking wildly, no one was within hearing range of us, and the Turians even with their advanced hearing would only be able to hear whispers.

"**What is your name?**"

I looked down at him and saw he was looking at me with confusion in his eyes.

"M-Mettik"

"**Mettik… interesting name, and your mate?**"

"Aralak"

"**Hmm. Been together long?**"

The more I spoke the more confused he got.

"Why are you asking me all of this?"

"**Because Pallin is stalling with the Sky Car until he realizes that there is no alternative, so I am simply making conversation and since this is the second time I have your life in my hands I figured I should know the man I could potentially be killing**"

The statement was accompanied by a shrug that lifted Mettik up along with my shoulders.

"We've been together almost ten years now"

"**Admirable. Met at C-Sec?**"

"Yeah, started on the same day and we just kind of stuck together"

"**I see, and as far as I remember in Turian culture there is nothing wrong with two males being together am I correct?**"

"Yeah"

"**Family?**"

I saw his features soften as he looked over at his very scared and confused mate.

"**A little girl, we took her in a few years ago**"

I don't know what it was, but something inside me spread across my entire body and my own memories went back to Sivra and the life we once planned on building together… after a few seconds I pushed Mettik towards his mate, as soon as he had regained his footing Aralak was holding him in a tight embrace, a few seconds later they broke apart and Mettik turned towards me, a questioning look on his face.

"**I will not rob a child of her parent**"

Mettik looked like he wanted to say something, but he got interrupted by the arrival of a C-Sec Sky Car _'C-Sec patrol car, of course…'_ stepping over to the car I waited for the door to open, when it did I was somewhat relieved that it was actually Garrus behind the wheel. He made a gesture for me to get in and I complied, after a few seconds we set off and where one our way.

"What the hell are you?"

I disengaged my helmet and looked over at Garrus.

"You have to be a bit more specific Garrus"

Garrus growled and looked at me with a slight bit of anger in his eyes.

"I mean how one guy took down nine Blue Suns **alone** with only a sword?! And what the hell was that flash bang you set off in there?! If I hadn't used a special scope I would have been blinded!"

Staring straight ahead I shrugged.

"Thanks for that last shot by the way" Garrus grunted in reply "As for what I am? I think it is quite clear what I am **not**" Garrus eyes widened as he looked at me.

"You are not Human are you?"

I shook my head.

"Only part of me is, I trust this information will stay between us? For now I believe it is better for everyone if they either don't know what I am, or just think I am human"

Garrus nodded silently, he seemed to be turning the information. After a good ten minutes of silent flying we arrived at some big complex close to the Citadel tower, I figured this was where I would be meeting with the Council. As we landed I looked out the windows and saw plenty of guards and security, something doesn't seem right. As Garrus was about to open the door I grabbed his shoulder.

"Garrus, when you get back to C-Sec start investigating this a little deeper, something is not right. Kidnapping a Councilor? That is a job for way more than 20 Blue Suns, someone had to have been pulling the strings, and also may I suggest putting a shadow guard on the councilors?"

Garrus was silent as he only nodded, realizing that we shouldn't be speaking for too long. As we both stepped out a few of the guards escorted me inside a rather extravagant room, from the looks of it I would suspect this is where the council entertains their more important guests, like the leaders of each race. A few minutes following my own arrival the door opened once more, and in stepped the three members of the council whom could very well be dead in a few months, or moments depending on how they behave. Sparatus was the first to react, he walked forward and put his hand forward for me to shake, I stared at his hand for a few seconds before turning on my distorter and shaking his hand.

"And here he is! The one I have to thank for my safety that was a brave thing you did back there"

I glanced over at the two other council members who were slowly approaching as well.

"**It was nothing Councilor; I merely lend my aid to C-Sec whom did most of the work**"

The Asari Councilor Tevos was next to speak

"It may have been so, but from what Sparatus have told us then you were to thank for his original rescue, and C-Sec merely secured him?"

"**That is true, but do not be so quick to discredit C-Sec, without their presence I would not have been able to sneak into the warehouse like I did**"

Looking over at the Salarian Councilor it was quite obvious that the more I spoke, the madder he would get, and from where I was standing it looked very much like he was ready to explode at a moment's notice, when he finally looked in my direction and saw my head turned towards him he apparently had enough.

"Enough of this! What is with your voice? Why do you hide it from us? Also I highly doubt you saved Sparatus out of the good of your heart, it is quite obvious you are neither Turian, Asari or Salarian so that begs to question as to why you would help one of us, because from your structure all that is left is Batarian or Human and neither would be the first to help any one of us"

Both Sparatus and Tevos looked at their colleague with a bit of anger, and a stare that almost screamed _"Watch what you say"_ I personally didn't care much, the Salarian Councilor has always been the suspicious type.

"**That is none of your business Councilor. As for my race? What does it matter, I chose to help and that will not change however much you distrust my kind**" I turned around and started walking towards the door when Sparatus spoke up.

"Wait, there must be something I can do to repay you for saving my life?"

As the door in front of me opened I turned around and looked Sparatus in the eyes.

"**You owe me one**"

And out the door I went; back out to the Sky car and Garrus, whom took me home to my apartment.

**5 Months until Eden Prime**

Three months has passed since the events with the Blue Suns, and thanks to the quick thinking of Garrus my location remains a secret he managed this by coming up with the quick lie that he "dropped me off somewhere seemingly random in the Presidium. I have also begun paying rent, a simple thing really when I stole every last credit that the original tenants had on them if I don't spend any credits at all besides paying rent, and I have enough food rations in my ship to last me until everything takes off. But these past two months have been strange, I am being followed but the method is strange. It is never the same person, but their search grid is still the same from what I have been able to gather with my own investigation these people have been trying to find my apartment, but they always report back after following me for four hours and then there is a ten minute window for me to return home before the next person starts tailing me. Last week I managed to follow one of my stalkers back to whoever it was he reports to after the four hours are up, to my surprise the person he reported back to turned out to be none other than Miss Miranda Lawson herself, truth be told I was close to flying off to Cerberus HQ and rip the head of The Illusive Man when I found out but I figured that would produce a little problem in the future when we needed Shepard resurrected. _'The great joy of knowing everything, meaning I also know what can go wrong…' _I let my mind wander far and wide for a few hours before I came to a reasonable conclusion, a message to dear old TIM would serve both to get him off my back but it could also potentially give me an enemy I really don't need right now, but I can't keep going around with Cerberus spying on me.

I started following more agents back to Miranda until I was comfortable that I could evade them and follow Miranda at the same time. It took a few weeks but eventually I found out where Miranda stays, another high end apartment complex a few minutes away from me in the Presidium. She lives in the pent house unsurprisingly, but she doesn't have any security around the place, and from what the landlord told me (He was very helpful…) she never gets visitors but also only shows up once a week _'So even the "great" Miranda Lawson needs a day off…'_. The following Friday I followed her wearing the Alpha-Frame, my plan is simple enough I am going to sneak in while in Loki mode and simply take the elevator along with her, the door won't close before I make my way inside. Unsurprisingly it went just as I had expected, I followed her into her apartment in cloak and went inside the elevator with her. _'Her ability to detect others is severely lacking'_ as we arrived in the pent house I walked into the living room and looked around, the place was most likely filled with bugs and cameras, they needed to be taken care of. A minor EMP should function just fine, I created the minor blast by simply releasing raw energy from my Warframe, I knew it had all worked when most of the electricity in the apartment (which meant just about everything) sparked for a few seconds and died. I switched my Warframe back to neutral while I was waiting, and during the transformation I heard footsteps behind me, signaling the arrival of Miranda.

"**Miss Lawson, I hope you do not mind I let myself in**"

I must admit she was remarkably quick to put on a very businesslike face, and the smile on her face clearly indicated that she expected me to be standing here one day.

"Not at all, we have been looking for you for a while in fact; you are incredibly good at hiding your location"

"**Yes I am aware, your agents were getting quite disturbing and may I suggest you pull them all after today? If not then you will have to start explaining to The Illusive Man why you are sending so many body bags back to your headquarters**"

Her face faulted when I spoke of TIM, she is a woman who prides herself in secrecy, so someone figuring out who she works for was probably not on the top ten things he thought anyone would ever find out.

"You know of my employer? Good, that will speed up the process, I am here to follow on the confirmation of the rumors of you being human, my boss would like to offer you a job he has a very generous offer in mind, one that only requires us to look over your armor and then get a blood sample from you, and the pay is good, very good"

She spoke with conviction and a spring in her voice that indicted that she really believed what TIM was telling her, I of course know better and have nothing but disdain for the man.

"**Tempting Miss Lawson, but I don't work for terrorist; also would you kindly open up a holo communication with your boss? I too wish to speak with him**"

"The only way that is going to happen is…"

"**Is with Orianna's corpse hanging inside your private quarters?**"

A little morbid I will agree, but sadly Orianna is the only thing that at this time could potentially get Miranda to do what I want, and the effect is instantaneous. All color drained from her cheeks and slowly I saw the fear in her eyes start to spread, and then before I knew it she had drawn her pistol and fired… big mistake when she kept firing and the damn thing overheated. When she was finally done I crossed my arms over my chest.

"**Miss Lawson… Are you sure that is the smartest path of action? I must assume the rumors about me being human started after the Blue Suns incident?**" She nodded "**Then you are aware of what I am capable off, that aside you now know that I at least know that Orianna exists, and as such most likely I also know her location and you still think it is a good idea to discharge a weapon at me?**"

It is quite odd how three hundred plus years can make it so easy to be a cold blooded bastard. Miranda simply started shaking and looked at her weapon realizing it was no longer overheated she pointed the gun at me once more but hesitated, she seemed to be thinking it through for once. After a few minutes of me standing with my arms crossed and Miranda trying to figure out whatever to try and shoot me again or not, she finally spoke.

"You promise that if I let you talk to The Illusive Man you won't hurt Orianna?"

I nodded and she gestured for me to follow her. We went into a little room that had the same kind of table that is on the SR2, Miranda turned it on and stepped up and waited for the call to be received, when I heard a voice ring out through the room.

"_Miranda, don't you usually take this night off?"_

Before she could answer I planted a strike at the back of her neck which caused her to black out, I dragged her out and placed her next to the table and then stepped inside the holo communicator myself. When I finally got my first look at TIM I must say I was impressed, the man radiates and aura that demands respect, too bad for him that I don't have any to give.

"_I see… You must be the one we have been tracking, am I correct?"_

"**Your assumption is correct Mr. Harper**"

Now Mr. Jack Harper is notorious for never showing any emotion, but as soon as I used his last name his face faulted, it turned into a very interesting grimace, as if I had sprouted the biggest secret in human history.

"_How do you know that name?"_

"**My knowledge extends to a great many thing Mr. Harper. As for the reason I wanted this call, I simply wish to present a deal to you. From now on you will stay out of my business and in turn I will stay out of yours, does that sound agreeable?**"

He fell into silence as he kept drawing on his cigarette; he seemed to be in very deep thought. _'I hope he doesn't do something stupid, I don't have the time to go deal with him'_

"_I assume this means that you wish for me to withdraw my agents?" _I nodded_ "And for as long as we do not interfere with anything that you might be doing, you will then not interfere with any Cerberus projects you happen to come along?"_

"**Not completely Mr. Harper**" I saw his eyebrow twitch for the shortest of moments "**I will leave any Cerberus projects alone that will not interfere with my current mission, should one of these projects interfere with my mission I will however take it down**"

He went back to thinking, probably trying to find a way to get me to work for him. I was getting slightly impatient with the man after standing for a good minute or so _'There is a limit to your thinking…'_. When he finally looked ready to speak I almost cracked a smile.

"_This is not the outcome I expected, but I guess this is the best I will get from you"_

"**No Mr. Harper it is not. The best you have gotten from me is your life, I have already had plenty of opportunities to kill you but have refrained from such, and you will play an important role in my future plans Mr. Harper so I will see you live until then. Your final words Jack?**"

When I finally used his real name his demeanor changed completely, where he before had been sitting in his chair emitting this aura of respect, he now stood up and dropped his cigarette to the floor, anger clear in his eyes.

"_I don't take threats lightly, remember that"_

He disconnected the call. Looking down in Miranda I felt a small sense of guilt, she isn't that bad of a person really, she just needs to get her head on straight in regards to Cerberus. I bend down and lifted her up in my arms and carried her into the bedroom (after I found it) and placed her on her bed, I found some paper and a writing utensil in her apartment and left a note.

_Orianna's location is safe with me.  
Don't trust anyone when you need to move her, not even Niket.  
Only move her yourself._

_-Echo_

I walked out of the apartment the same way I came in, this time I didn't bother with the cloak since there was no need. _'Hopefully that note will keep Orianna safe'_ as I finally reached my home I went inside and got to bed _'I made a powerful enemy today…'_. That night was one of the few where I wasn't plagued by nightmares.

**1 Month until Eden Prime**

Two months have passed since my encounter with TIM, and he has been trying to prove his point of "_I don't take threats lightly_" by sending more agents to follow me but that seized about one week ago, when he finally got the message. All it took was eight of his agents to die, and a few warnings left carved into their corpses. But TIM is low on my list for now this is mostly due to one particular presence I was feeling constantly of late, it is the same presence I used to feel back in the other dimension, the feeling I would get when The Stalker was close by and when I felt that feeling for the first time I froze in place and nearly killed everyone in my near vicinity to find him, but I cooled down after a while and eventually put that idea in the back of my mind, but I kept feeling the presence and I kept looking out for it but nothing was ever there.

Today I had decided to calm my mind with a walk around the Presidium, most people would look a little oddly after me because of Nikana, but most everyone else just ignored me like I was another part of their daily lives. Passing over the bridge that was between the C-Sec elevator and towards the Consort Chambers I actually entertained the thought of going inside and getting an appointment, but knowing her fairly long waiting list and my own lack of will to sleep with an Asari I chose to move on and continued toward the shops. When I finally passed most of the various shops that was in the Presidium I eventually found myself in front of a familiar door _'The shop of Barla Von, agent of the Shadow Broker… I don't really need to deal with him yet, but it couldn't hurt to inform him that he cannot hide from me either'_ with that in mind I stepped inside the shop which turned out to be rather plain, there was a desk with Barla Von behind it and a file cabinet behind him, that was it. When I approached Barla Von he looked up and even though I couldn't see his face I knew he was smiling.

"Ah Mr. Echo! *Wheeze* How splendid to finally *Wheeze* see you in my shop!"

The little guy was wheezing more so than usual perhaps because he was exited or perhaps it was something else.

"Mr. Von I assume from your enthusiastic greeting that your employer has already heard of me?"

"Yes indeed *Wheeze* he has been wishing to give you a formal message *Wheeze* for a while now, I must say I am grateful that *Wheeze* you arrived when you did"

"I see. I assume I have not acquired your employer's ire just yet?"

"My of course not Mr. Echo *Wheeze* your small scuffle with the Blue Suns and Cerberus *Wheeze* my employer on the other hand thanks you! *Wheeze* He has acquired good business since your endeavors with both organizations *Wheeze* But this leads me to the first part of the message which is a request *Wheeze* for information regarding yourself and the armor you wear"

'_The Shadow Broker wishes to know about me and my armor, unsurprising'_

"My apologies Mr. Von but that information is classified and will not be shared with anyone"

"Ahh… and from your personality I must assume *Wheeze* that no amount of credits will change your mind?" I shook my head "A shame really but in that case, my employer then simply wishes to extend his greetings *Wheeze* and hope that you will consider him for your future information needs"

"Well Mr. Von, you can pass a message along to your employer for me then." He nodded "Good, the message is simple it is but a sentence and a word. The sentence is "_I know_" and the word is "_Yahg_" and that will be all for now Mr. Von have a pleasant day"

"You as well *Wheeze* Mr. Echo"

I walked out the office with the knowledge that I just potentially made the worst enemy one could make or perhaps the greatest ally, at least until he is killed and replaced by Liara.

* * *

I spent the remainder of the day walking around the Presidium, taking in the various sights and simply enjoying the lively feeling that was present, lord knows it will be gone in a few months' time. As I passed by a row of shops a smell stopped me dead in my tracks as I inhaled the scent a memory danced across my eyes.

==Memory/Flashback?==

It was dark and the only light I could see in the sky was the fireworks on my left stood two older men; one was only three years ahead of me, while the other was thirty years ahead of me. We all stood in silence and watched the fireworks light up the sky in all manner of colors and shapes, the older one of the two men, my father, was standing with a cigar in his hand and the smell of it had spread across the whole balcony I enjoyed the smell, it was only once a year my father would smoke a cigar and it was on new year's eve, he always claimed that he wouldn't end one year without smoking one and so far he had held on to that tradition. My father passed the cigar to his right into the hands of my older brother who took a few draws and exhaled a smoke ring, my father and I laughed at his antics while he proceeded to hand the cigar to me, I didn't smoke nor would I ever start but I had taken to enjoying the one cigar a year alongside my father and brother, when I took my first draw I inhaled by mistake and started coughing violently, my father and brother laughed while my brother slapped my back to help with the coughing and once I could breathe again I joined them in their laughter.

==Memory/Flashback? End==

The memory was a pleasant one, one of the few memories I have that still make me smile. I glanced into the store a few times before agreeing with myself that it was a tradition that was long overdue to be revived, as I entered the shop I saw that the sole worker of the shop was an elderly man with a full with beard and a pair of half glasses, he was reading a book while drinking what smelled like extremely strong coffee. As I approached the man he looked up at me with eyes that matched his age.

"Can I help you Sir?"

I smiled slightly

"Yes I think you can, I need a small case of cigars, around twenty should suffice for now though I must admit I have no knowledge on the subject so an expert's opinion would be most welcome, and thank you sir"

The elderly gentleman stared me up and down before nodding sagely a few times.

"Ever smoked a cigar before?"

"Five if my count is right"

"I see… strong lungs?" I nodded with a small smile "Very well, then I think I have just the thing"

He moved out back and returned a few minutes later with a small box and opened it up, revealing twenty cigars neatly packed together.

"Here you go sir. Mild with a bit of an after taste, also all the necessary things needed"

I nodded and took the box and looked it over, at the bottom a word was etched into it, it was very old so I couldn't make out the word, and glancing up at the elderly man he saw what I was looking at

"Care to know what it says?" I nodded "It's a family name, you see that box is especially old it was made in 2015 by a young man after he too started smoking cigars, his name was "Kim *********""

I gently put the box down on the table and stared at it, my mind was racing along with my heart if my tears hadn't dried up many decades ago they would surely have fallen now, that name… that was my older brothers name. My mind refused to believe it and I looked at the elderly man with great confusion

"W-Why do you have it then sir?"

A warm smile spread across the elderly man's features as reached over and patted me a few times on the shoulder.

"Well it's a family heirloom, I am the last decedent of Kim *********"

"Why would you sell me your family's heirloom?"

The elderly man laughed and looked me over once more

"Because I have no children to pass this on too, and I feel like it belongs with you so make an old man happy and use it well?"

I took the box in my hands once more and nodded silently; the elderly man accepted my payment and sent me off on my way, but before I exited the shop I turned around

"If it is not too much sir, what is your name?"

The elderly man laughed again

"I was named Kim after the one who made the box"

I smiled warmly at him and nodded once before exiting the store. It took me a while longer than usual to make it home, since I walked much slower than usual. When I finally got inside my home I put the box down and took out one cigar, I prepared it and lit it up, drawing a few times before exhaling the smoke and tasting the cigar I remembered the taste from New Year's Eve 2012, the last cigar I ever shared with my father and brother.

**Day of Eden Prime**

Funny the way patience works, or at least the way mine works. Today it was exactly ten months to the day sine I arrived in the Mass Effect world, and Eden Prime still hadn't occurred. I was walking down the Presidium Plaza trying to clear my head when I noticed a large gathering of people standing next to one of the huge holo news screens, I stepped up behind them and looked at the latest news something interesting must obviously have happened since the news bothered to report it, however what I read send me running at full speed the headline had read _"EDEN PRIME ATTACKED!"_ that however did not send me into gear, what the anchorwoman said next did _"Also a firefight seems to be ongoing down in the wards at the club known as Chora's Den"_ that had sent me running. I leapt into my ship and almost threw on my Alpha-Frame and grabbed my Nikana and ran out the door once again.

I made my way down a lot of side passages that connected the Wards to the Presidium if one knew which passages to take. When I finally came around the parts of the Wards I needed to be in I turned a corner only to be met with a problematic sight, Tali was standing and talking with the Turian hired by Saren and looking across the ally I saw Shepard and her crew come around the corner. I don't know who saw who first, but I reacted first by drawing my Nikana and using a basic foot technique to speed down the ramp and meet the Turian with a decapitating slash, on my way down I heard Shepard shout a few orders to her team. After the Turian had lost his head I turned around and met one of the salarians with the hilt of my blade knocking him down, looking up to the side I saw Garrus ready a shot so rather than bother with the last salarian still standing I turned to the one I knocked down, I brought my sword up and swung it back down with equal speed and took of the head of the salarian, when I turned to the last one I just managed to catch his head exploding from a well-placed sniper shot. As all three of the would be attackers lie dead at my feet I saw Shepard and her team slowly approaching me, when Shepard came into proper view I was surprised I was expecting the classic red hair and green eyes with a slight pale skin, instead I was met by a tan skinned woman with jet black hair tied up in a ponytail, her eyes however remained a deep green which held that piercing gaze. As they all approached I closed my eyes and focused, I wanted to check if there was anyone hiding nearby but what I felt made my eyes fly open and before anyone could speak or react I brought my blade up to Tali's neck .

"**One wrong move and the Quarian dies**"

**A/N: MUHAHAHA CLIFFHANGER! Chapter 4 will be up as soon as possible, I ran into some difficulties so I can only upload 1-3 sorry. Well for this chapter I am sure some of you have guessed that "total rewrite" isn't completely true, I have changed some events and added some new ones and removed a few others, but that is the way most of the story will go for now, you will be reading a lot of the same just in a different setting and with different outcomes, which I guess does mean you are technically reading something new…**


	4. Chapter 4

'_Good going Echo, lets scar a poor girl for life and reduce the amount of trust she will ever have in you to zero'_ glancing over at Shepard and co. it's easy to see how angry each of them are, well all except Wrex but he doesn't count. By count there are two assault rifles, one pistol, one shotgun and one sniper rifle pointed directly at my head. But in this situation I had to create a scenario where I held a bargaining chip, when I previously focused to look for any possible survivors or perhaps just someone who was spying I caught something. I felt **five** different forms of presence and that just couldn't be right, Wrex is a Krogan that is one presence, Tali is a Quarian and that makes two, with Garrus we got three and then there is Ashley, Kaidan and Shepard whom is human, that is four different species meaning I should be feeling four forms of presence, closing my eyes once more I bring all my focus on the last presence. My eyes shoot open and I almost stumble backwards, when I focused on the last presence it manifested itself in my mind as a giant pillar of light, the only problem? That pillar of light was standing directly on top of Shepard meaning that somehow Shepard isn't completely human. Staring at her I try to find anything that would be pointing to a non-human origin or alteration but I see nothing.

"I won't ask again, lower that weapon!"

Looking over the rest I can see that all of them are ready to shoot but as my eyes land on Garrus I can clearly see it on him "_confusion_", poor guy is probably wondering why I would even attempt something like this after saving a counselor.

"**My apologies Commander Shepard, but that will certainly not be happening. Your own weapons however would do much more for this conversation if they were placed on your backs, if one bullet gets fired then this Quarian will no longer have a head and you will lose your chance to get Saren**"

Glancing over at Tali I can see she is trying to move away from the blade ever so slowly, I press the blade a little closer to her neck.

"**Not the best of ideas Tali, your suit is especially weak around the neck**"

She stopped moving instantly, I feel terrible for doing this but there is no helping it. A small sound inside my helmet alerts me that a call is incoming _'Who the hell…?'_ answering the call I notice some movement in the corner of my vision, Garrus mouth is moving.

"_What the hell are you doing?!"_

He is whispering so the others won't hear him, but given that Shepard is looking ready to kill me I don't think he has to be worried about that. I turn off the sound from my helmet before answering.

"Garrus listen closely" I see his eyes open as he looks straight at me before nodding "Good, one I am done talking I am going to start talking to Shepard, once I mention you jump into the conversation and follow my lead"

Garrus nods before setting his eye back down to his scope. Glancing over Shepard and the crew one more time I take in everyone's positions, should it come down to a firefight I can take them down with relative ease as long as I don't go for Wrex.

"**It seems we find ourselves in a bit of a stand still Commander. What do you say to putting down our weapons and talking this over like rational individuals?**"

The surprise in Shepards face is evident; she looks to be contemplating my idea when Ashley decides to voice her opinion that it is a bad idea.

"Don't trust him Commander, I know his type they won't lay down their weapons unless it's to grab a knife and stab you in the back"

I feel a small tick in the back of my mind _'How many decades has it been since the last time I felt annoyed?'_ glancing at Shepard I can see that she is ready to order them to fire rather then put down their weapons, so I act first. I remove my blade from Tali's throat and twirl it around two times before putting it back in its scabbard and looking over at Ashley.

"**There we go Miss Williams; I have put away my weapon.**"

The look on her face is priceless. Not two seconds later did Tali bolt over to Shepard and ran behind the group for protection. When Shepard had ensured that Tali were okay and that I hadn't accidently ruptured her suit _'Like I would make a mistake like that…'_, as she turned around towards me and put her weapon away she took a few steps towards me.

"Let's try this one more time. Who are you and why did you "Save" the Quarian?"

I took a few steps forward to meet her and put my hand forward for her to shake, she simply looks at it before staring at my face with a look that practically yells _"are you stupid?"_

"**I can assure you Commander that I wish for nothing more but to shake your hand, and I will answer none of your questions until you manage a proper greeting**"

She looked deeply offended that I would even dare to request that hand shake, but she grabs my hand and shakes it twice before letting go and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now answer my question"

"**I saved the Quarian because she has information I need. I held her hostage because I would not risk you getting the information first and potentially getting to Saren before me**" Shepard raised her eyebrow before waving her hand outwards in a "and…?" gesture. "**And you can call me Echo if you need to call me anything**"

Nodding at me she actually breaks the smallest of smiles, but it disappears as soon as it arrived.

"What do you want with Saren?"

"**I am sorry Commander, but I do not trust you enough to disclose that information**"

I almost glared at Garrus from the inside of my helmet once I finished that sentence, hoping that he would get my drift. He perked up after a few seconds and put his sniper away before stepping down next to Shepard.

"Would you trust me with that information Echo?"

I was smiling inside my helmet, it seems Garrus understood what I wanted from him but Shepard on the other hand looked confused beyond all measure.

"You know him Garrus?"

I let out a low chuckle that thanks to the filter in the helmet sounded more like an evil maniac's chuckle rather than a sincere one.

"**Mr. Vakarian and I**" Garrus sent a glare my way for using his last name again "**My apologies, Garrus and I worked together some months ago when the Turian councilor was kidnapped**"

This made Garrus smile and give me an appreciative nod for using his name, but it sent Shepard into an even more confused state as she looked back and forth between me and Garrus, trying to figure out which one of us to ask the next question.

"Can we trust him?"

The question apparently ended up with Garrus.

"Just don't let him out of your sight Shepard, besides that I wouldn't mind having him watch my back"

"**And since Garrus here seems to trust you Commander I shall as well. I am after Saren Arterius due to his recent attack on Eden Prime, if I am correct that is also your reason for chasing him?**"

Shepard nodded but her stern gaze never left me.

"What is your interest in the attack on Eden Prime? You are not Alliance and my best guess would be that you aren't human either"

Garrus looked at me with a questioning gaze; I had told him back then that I wished for that fact to be kept secret between us.

"**I have no actual interest in the attack on the colony itself**" this drew a killing glare from Ashley "**I only have interest in the ship he attacked with**"

Shepard seemed to turn the information for a few seconds before nodding silently to herself.

"Wait here, I need to make a call"

She stepped away and left me with Garrus

"What is your angle on this Echo?"

Knowing the others were out of earshot I disabled my distorter.

"I can't tell you everything yet Garrus, but for now just know that there is something much bigger than Saren out there and I need Shepards help to fight it"

Garrus nodded solemnly before turning to his side where a shaking Tali was making her way towards us, I enabled my distorter as she got within hearing range.

"I don't know whatever to thank you for saving me or shoot you for holding me hostage"

I must admit that caught me a bit by surprise, I had expected her to react quite a bit differently than that but first things first. Sitting down in Seiza I bowed deeply in front of Tali.

"**I must offer my deepest apologies Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, what I did was without honor but I couldn't risk the information you have slipping from my grasp**"

If I was able to see Tali's face I am quite sure it would be one of surprise, Garrus certainly looked surprised. Shepard chose this time to return to us and she looked as confused as everyone else. Tali knelt in front of me and put a hand on my shoulder, I could hear the smile in her voice.

"You would never have killed me, would you?"

I shook my head

"**No, I will not kill innocent people and certainly not someone so young**"

"You knew this all along Garrus?"

Shepard had turned towards Garrus and was giving him a very familiar stare, that stare appears in the games a few too many times and now Garrus is facing it for the first time. He started scratching the back of his head and tried to look everywhere else but at Shepard.

"Well… perhaps? After all he did let a C-Sec officer go despite that meaning he lost his bargaining chip, so I figured he was doing it again?"

Shepard grunted once and nodded before turning her glare on me, now had I not lived for over three hundred years I think I might actually have taken a step back when she looked at me.

"I called some of the higher ups, they want to meet you and hear any information you have on Saren's ship"

"**I see… where are we meeting Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson?**"

Shepard looked ready to pull her gun on me once more when I said that, _'I wonder for how long I can keep this up before I have to tell her everything, or get myself shot'_ I stood for a few seconds waiting for Shepard to decide what to do, I grew bored of waiting.

"**Your higher ups can only be so many people Shepard, in terms of Military it is most likely a Captain or an Admiral and since the attack was on a colony and you are here to seek assistance from the council that makes it a political matter as well, thus we have the resident idiot also called Ambassador Udina. As for how I knew it was Anderson? You flew in on the Normandy which is currently under the command of Captain Anderson**"

As the words leave my mouth it clicks in my brain, this is a game… or at least it used to be one. Here I am standing alongside a group of individuals that I once looked at through a screen and nothing more, and the events that are going to take place are all inside my mind. I could list of each and every one of these individuals in front of me and give you a full rundown of who they are, yet I can't be sure that that is truly who they are anymore. A wave of what best be described as a mix of nausea and extreme anger washes over my entire being, in a span of perhaps five seconds I have gone from wishing my stomach was no longer a part of my body to wanting to kill the next person who even looks at me funny. I take a few quick glances around the group once more, Wrex is looking bored as all hell and seems more like he wishes to be asleep then standing around here, Ashley looks pissed which is likely from my comment about not caring about the attack on the colony, Kaidan is tapping away at his omni-tool probably trying to find some information about either me or something related to Saren, both Garrus and Tali is talking with Shepard about something. Leaning my head back I retreat into my head to think things over, this is something I have taken up in the past few years; call it a coping mechanism for killing thousands of people.

'_After three hundred years I have moved on to somewhere new… now I stand in a dirty alley with six living legends, how would I not have reacted all those years ago had I come here first? I can almost see myself stepping out into the world of Mass Effect green as grass and with no sense of purpose. I would have been dead within the day'_

I couldn't tell whatever I had been standing there for five minutes or five hours, once I go into my head I lose almost all perception of time and often I would rely on someone close by to wake me back up, this time around that wake up consisted of Shepard first snapping her fingers in front of my face, which did wake me up mind you, and following since I didn't react she thought it feasible to try and wake me with a punch. I must admit I did look over her when she moved into the punch, she has a solid stance and good form, had I been just about any other person that punch would surely have connected simply due to the speed and precision that the strike held, however when the punch came close enough I simply lifted my arm and moved the incoming fist away with my forearm sending Shepard tumbling behind me.

"**Firm stance and good form Shepard but next time, do check that I am awake before you attempt to strike me**"

I could hear Wrex's roaring laughter coming from behind us, but at the same time the unmistakable sound of two weapons being drawn were also present, I'll give you two guesses two whom drew their weapons. I didn't even bother to turn around to look at the two paranoid humans, rather I just extended my hand to Shepard to help her back up, I was slightly surprised when she reached over and grabbed it without restraint.

"Well… you didn't react when we spoke to you, so I figured I needed to do something to wake you"

"**Indeed? Perhaps next time you could try tapping my shoulder instead?**"

She gave me a grin while nodding thanks for the helping hand.

"Where is the fun in that?"

I had to shake my head at that, never before have I met someone like that even the most unserious tricksters among the Tenno wouldn't dare to attempt punching someone awake.

"**Well in the future I would appreciate that your "fun" came in a different form then attempting to strike me**"

Shepard gave a low chuckle and patted me a few times on the shoulder.

"I'll think about it. Now let's get going Udina isn't known for his patience"

As everyone fell in behind Shepard I decide to walk up next to Garrus, for some company if for nothing else. The walk from the wards to the presidium is a somewhat short one, however from our location in the wards to the embassies without shuttle? Pretty long. It's funny how a rather long walk can give you time to look at things you didn't bother seeing before, for myself that meant I was now finally witnessing the Citadel rather than simply moving around in it. I see families mostly everywhere we go, parents whom are happily walking with their children whom a smiling and laughing while simply being alive… a shame it will all come crashing down in a few months. I felt someone grab my shoulder and when I turned it was Garrus, he was purposely slowing us down so we came out of earshot of the others.

"You were right" I turned my head towards his and looked at him "About the Blue Suns, something didn't add up"

"I see… go on"

I saw Garrus hands tighten and even heard a small snarl coming from him

"They weren't Blue Suns"

This time it was me who stopped us, I had to be a hundred percent sure that the others couldn't hear us.

"Elaborate"

We started walking again but our pace was so slow that we only barely held up with the rest.

"When we looked through the warehouse we found nothing but when I duck a little deeper I found something, a salarian weapons and armor manufacturer down in the wards called Treck was commissioned for twenty-five pieces of armor bearing Blue Suns colors. Get this, he was paid the entire amount on an untraceable credit chit and the person who paid him was a human"

I feel into silence as we walked, something didn't seem right about this. _'Why go through all the trouble to kidnap a counselor and then take him to what was a relatively unsecure warehouse?'_ we kept walking while I kept pondering and the Embassies were getting closer by the minute.

"What about the kidnapping itself? How was that done?"

"That's the thing that took us by surprise" My eyebrows went up at this, I figured an abduction wasn't a terribly rare sight on the Citadel "It was too perfect they were in and out in thirty seconds, five people and all five are human is our best guess, utilizing every blind spot the camera's had and the guards were knocked out within seconds of spotting the attackers, no one had time to react before the councilor was already in the shuttle and on his way to that warehouse"

'_Thirty seconds? That requires training and planning on a level that the Blue Suns definitely doesn't have'_ I didn't have any trouble figuring out that someone else was behind it, but what was nagging me was the fact that the first part of the plan, the abduction, was so perfectly executed yet the confinement and subsequent securing of the councilor was a piss poor job at best in contrast to the first part… something was very off about this.

"A setup…" suddenly a light went up in my mind as the idea started planting, Garrus was also looking at me with a questioning look begging me to elaborate "It was made to look like the Blue Suns, but why would anyone want to blame the Blue Suns for this? I can't see anyone profiting from it"

Garrus mouth opened and closed a few times like he wanted to say something but whatever it was it kept dying at his tongue, I couldn't exactly say much afterwards either my mind was already working on figuring out why the hell you would want to set up the Suns for this it just didn't make sense and it hate when things doesn't make sense! Suddenly I was stopped in my tracks when a turian arm stopped my pace abruptly

"…the twenty guys in the warehouse"

Did he figure something out?

"What about them?"

"The abduction was perfect, but the holding of him was sloppy at best…"

"I am aware, what does this have to do with the twenty guys in the warehouse?"

"But that is it Echo! There was only twenty guys in the warehouse and there was twenty-five armors commissioned, what about the five that took the councilor!?"

Suddenly it all fell into place inside my head _'Twenty-five pieces of armor… five for the trained ones… twenty for the cannon fodder…'_ I looked over at Garrus and apparently we had the same thought.

"Diversion!**"**

"The twenty guys in the warehouse was only there to allow the remaining five to get away undetected!"

I nodded my agreement, but there was something else.

"But why would they leave behind twenty of their people just to let five escape?"

Garrus seemed to be mulling it over, I looked up and the embassies were now clearly visible not too much longer before we would arrive.

"…Because they weren't their men"

"You think they hired them?"

"It makes sense doesn't it? I mean if they wanted a proper diversion to escape with I don't think they would have too much trouble with finding twenty willing people to guard one person, but that still leaves us with why they would do that and why that one person had to be the councilor"

I let it roam inside my mind for a few seconds before the answer almost sprang at me, it was just like those bad heist movies and the like that I watched back on earth all those years ago…

"C-Sec response time… They were testing how quickly you could mobilize"

Garrus face lit up in surprise and horror, he looked directly where he believed my eyes were and I could almost see the anger in his eyes

"Testing for something bigger?"

"Possibly… contact Pallin and get on this, I need to have a word with Shepard this could get out of hand quickly"

Garrus nodded and started making the call while I sped up and headed towards Shepard, it didn't take more than a few seconds to catch up due to my excessive training, as I reached Shepard I grabbed her shoulder and stopped us all right outside the embassy building.

"**Shepard, we have a problem**"

Her eyes shot open immediately and gave me gesture to go on.

"**Garrus and I just held a longer conversation regarding the kidnapping of the councilor a few months ago, some information was revealed for both of us and we now believe that kidnapping was only practice for something bigger. I plan on brining this forward to the council at next given chance**"

Shepard seemed to mull things over for a few seconds before nodding to herself.

"We are likely going to present the evidence from Tali as soon as we are done with Udina, you could present it there afterwards"

I nodded and Shepard turned and walked through the door, I waited next to it until Garrus reached me once again he was apparently done with is call.

"C-Sec is on it he is going to push for an audience with the council, but he doesn't wish to rush it as to not incite panic"

"**Good. Shepard just told me that we are going to be presenting the evidence from Tali after we dealt with Udina, once that has been done I will present our findings so I need you there to back up the story**"

Garrus nodded and we both walked inside the embassy and up towards Udina's office, how I rue my severe lack of patience…

* * *

As Garrus and I approached the office of Udina I could already hear the beginning of his rant.

"…Chora's Den? Do you know how many" At this point Garrus and I walked into his office and this seemed to trigger Udina's sight since he apparently noticed the rest of us present in the room with him "What is this Shepard, a Quarian, Turian, Krogan and I don't know what to call that thing there next to the turian. You better have a damn good reason for this Shepard!"

If Shepard actually had a good reason for this then I didn't let her voice it, Udina had barely finished speaking before I had placed my hand around his throat and lifted the poor excuse for a human off the ground, I didn't even bother hiding the contempt in my voice

"**Ambassador Udina in my long life I have met only a select few individuals who can anger me merely by speaking, you have now gotten yourself onto that very short list and you are also currently the only living person still on it so choose your following words carefully**"

I released my grip around Udina's throat and let him fall flat on his ass, when I turned I once more found weapons pointed in my general direction, though this time it was only Ashley and Kaidan who had drawn their weapons the others didn't seem to mind my actions, hell Shepard was sporting the smallest of smiles. When Udina finally got his ass of the ground Shepard stepped in front of me and pushed me back towards Garrus as she started to speak.

"Why I am here Udina? Well I am here to make your day" Shepard turned and gestured for Tali to come over and stand beside her "She has information linking Saren to the Geth"

The look on Udina's face couldn't be described as skeptical; he looked like he had been told a lie so big that it could have trouble fitting in the Citadel.

"Really? Maybe you better start at the beginning miss…?"

Tali seemed a little insulted at his tone, too bad she isn't going to shoot him for it…

"My name is Tali, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya"

"We don't see many qurians here, why did you leave the flotilla?"

"I was on my pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood"

"What does this pilgrimage entail?"

'_Oh we are not doing this…'_

"**The Quarian Pilgrimage is in simple terms when a Quarian leaves the flotilla and search the galaxy for something to bring back as pilgrimage gift and thus get accepted onto a ship in the flotilla and is thus considered an adult**"

Almost everyone turned towards me, some with questioning looks in their eyes while others seemed more interested in the fact that I knew something like that.

"You know about our pilgrimage?"

"**I do, let's leave it at that**"

Tali gave me a nod but I have a feeling she is going to be approaching me in the future to learn more. Eventually we got around to listening to the recording Tali managed to scavenge.

"_Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit. And one step closer to the return of the reapers"_

"**Reapers…**"

"Who the hell are the Reapers?"

I glanced over at Shepard and I felt angry for once, almost furious when I thought of the Reapers I truly feel hatred for this monstrosity that the Leviathans decided to create, after three hundred years you come to despise beings like that, the ones that think they can play god…

"**The Reapers is a hyper advanced machine race which was last seen in our galaxy fifty thousand years ago, when they hunted the Protheans to extinction**"

As the words left my mouth I started walking towards the door, I have no intentions of staying here for another minute. When the door opened Shepard apparently came out of whatever daze she was in.

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?"

"**I will be right outside the door Shepard**"

I didn't stick around for her reply I simply walked outside and stood next to the door and waited for them to finish and head towards the Citadel Tower. _'Reapers… I hope I can control myself when we come around to showing it to the council…'_ a few minutes went by before the door opened and Udina and Anderson stepped out and started heading off, presumably to go prepare the council. When Shepard came out she stopped and turned towards me a small smile still on her lips.

"Care to explain why you left?"

"**I didn't wish to listen to Udina for a minute longer**"

"I gathered as much after you almost chocked him to death, nice threat by the way"

I glanced at Shepard from inside my helmet, she is apparently under the illusion that that was a casual threat and not a solemn promise that I would happily fulfill.

"**That was no threat, had he once more spoken against other races I would have killed him**"

Shepard's eyes practically flew open before she started laughing, when I didn't return her laugh or in any way show that I was only joking her expression returned to a hardened and angry one.

"As much as I would enjoy seeing Udina get what he deserves, we need him"

I simply shrugged and nodded in the direction of the exit, as Shepard started to walk away we all fell in behind her once more, that is at least until we reached the elevator where we stopped so Shepard could address us all.

"Right… Kaidan and Echo I want you two to come with me to the council, Ashley can you show the rest team back to the Normandy?"

Ashley saluted and gave the usual "Yes Ma'am" before they got a chance to head off however I spoke up.

"**Garrus is coming with us Shepard, when I have to present my case I need Garrus there to back it up**"

Shepard nodded an okay and then the rest of the team was on their way to the Normandy. The remaining four of us jumped in a shuttle and sped towards the citadel tower.

* * *

Inside the shuttle there was what could best be described as a loud silence as it was clear all three of them had a few questions they would like to get off their chest…

"**Ask your questions, just don't expect an answer**"

Three sets of eyes fell on me and clearly they were happy that I had been the one to break the ice, which meant that they didn't have to risk anything by asking me after all.

"How old are you? You said to Udina that "in your long life" so you are getting up in the years?"

Of course it is Kaidan who asks about age of all people… might as well get this over with quickly.

"**I turned 354 a couple of months ago by my calculations**"

You could have heard a pin drop inside the shuttle when I said my age and unsurprisingly all three passengers reacted differently, Kaidan went completely silent and just looked at me like I was some freak, Shepard looked deep in thought as well as scanning me up and down with her eyes, Garrus however had a more predictable reaction

"How the hell can you look like you do and be 354?! You said you were human, I know you guys don't turn more than a 150 these days and when you do you sure as hell don't like you do!"

"Wait you've seen him without his helmet?"

"Yeah!"

Shepard and Garrus went off on a tangent while Kaidan still seemed to be coping with my age, I merely leaned back in my seat with a small smile playing on my lips, it had been quite a few years since I tricked someone into changing the subject. It held its own brand of humor to listen to Garrus and Shepard discuss my looks or rather lack of said discussion, Garrus kept refusing to say what I looked like claiming that I had wished for it to stay a secret and didn't wish to reveal something so private, I just think he forgot what I looked like the second Shepard asked. When we finally reached the Citadel tower the discussion between Garrus and Shepard had worn off but Kaidan still hadn't spoken a word didn't bother me much though, never liked the guy, as all four of us got off the shuttle and headed towards the council chamber Kaidan decided to rejoin the land of the living as he walked up next to me and with a tone that was less than friendly made his opinion known.

"If you really are 354 years old then there is no way you are a human, so what the hell are you?"

The coincidence that him and Garrus actually asked me the same thing with the same wording wasn't lost on me, didn't change the fact that I didn't really want to answer so I simply shrugged before I spoke.

"**Does it truly matter? On my best days I am indeed human**"

Kaidan raised an eyebrow at that and without missing a beat he asked the obvious question.

"And on your worst days?"

"**Pray you never have to find out**"

With that I sped up and walked up next to Shepard, deciding I would rather have her silent company than speak further with Kaidan. When we reached the council chambers Anderson was there waiting for us and he showed us into the chamber so we just managed to hear the end of the recording

"…_return of the reapers_"

"You wanted proof, there it is"

I just managed to contain a snort mostly due to the sheer stupidity behind the evidence itself, an audio tape is apparently enough in the future to prove someone is guilty.

"Indeed, but isn't it possible that this recording could be fabricated?"

Now I know I didn't say a word but I didn't really need to, apparently the Salarian Councilor actually has a functioning brain in his head. When I looked over at Shepard and the others their reaction was no surprise they all looked angry beyond belief that he would even suggest something like that.

"No it isn't, so far no one has successfully copied the sub-harmonics of a turian and I have spent enough time with Saren Arterius to know his, this is definitely him. Based on this evidence Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes"

This earned a few nods all around and a smile from Garrus he finally nailed Saren which I guess made his day. I looked at Tevos and waited for her to speak up about Benezia, but after standing in relative silence for a good fifteen seconds I felt something was off, looking over Tevos her body language betrayed her she was nervous and holding something back.

"**Councilor Tevos aren't you forgetting something?**"

It wasn't really asked as a question as much as said as a statement and Tevos reacted instantly by looking both confused and scared, she was definitely hiding something.

"**I suggest you speak quickly or I will and I won't paint a pretty picture**"

This got her tongue to loosen up oh so quickly.

"… The other voice is Matriarch Benezia"

This got Shepard's attention she stepped forward and addressed the councilor

"Who is she?"

The grimace on Tevos face was quite evident she clearly didn't wish to speak of this, but one look over in my direction and she started speaking once more.

"First you must understand that Matriarchs are Asari who have entered the final stage of their lives they are revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic who had many followers, she will make a formidable ally to Saren"

A lot of information I was already aware off but was news to everyone else present at this hearing, next we got the Salarian councilor asking about the reapers…

"I am more interested in the Reapers, what do you know about them?"

Yep there we go and queue Andersons very platonic and boring explanation that he got from Tali…

"Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core. The reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished"

'_Not as much vanished as simply hauled ass back to dark space…'_

"The geth believe the Reapers are gods and Saren is the prophet of their return"

"We Think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren's searching for it, that's why he attacked Eden Prime"

That is of course both correct and wrong at the same time, indeed he is looking for the conduit but it sure as hell isn't bringing the Reapers back…

"Do we even know what this Conduit is?"

"Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers, that is bad enough"

The more that was said the more I could see Sparatus losing his patience, but in all fairness had I been standing in his position I would have thought this conversation to be just as insane.

"Listen to what you're saying! Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible, it has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we'd have found something!"

I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with Sparatus on what he is saying, despite my knowledge that we are standing in one giant proof of the Reapers but they don't need to know that just yet.

"I tried to warn you about Saren and you refused to face the truth, don't make the same mistake again"

Had my face not been covered I am quite sure I would have been rubbing my eyes right now _'I never were good with politics'_

"This is different; you proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he's using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why"

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth Commander, a convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose. A legend he is using to bend the geth to his will"

And here comes the part I always loathed the part where Shepard just sounds ever so slightly insane simply because she had a vision.

"Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilization. If Saren finds the Conduit it will happen again!"

If I had my speakers on I am quite sure that my sigh would have been heard all the way up to the balcony.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life; he no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The council has stripped him of his position"

'_Not going to stop him sadly…'_ I leaned back against the railing and stared up at the balconies, an assortment of just about every species was gathered up there, we draw quite the crowd.

"That is not good enough! You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse, send your fleet in!" Udina yelled in a rather annoying fashion

"A fleet cannot track down one man" was the Salarian councilors dead pan reply.

"A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region, keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies"

I finally got off the railing and walked up next to Udina and turned him around so he was facing me

"**Or that could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems**"

This earned quite a few glances from around the room, mostly because I had stolen a line from Sparatus but perhaps also because I actually interrupted our dear ambassador. Sparatus actually made the classic cough to bring attention back to him.

"Yes it could and we won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies"

"Every time humanity asks for help you ignore us!"

'_Here we go…'_ glancing between Shepard and Udina I felt slightly sick to my stomach I really didn't like it when the two agreed much less when it was about "defending" humanity to the council.

"Shepard's right, I'm sick of this council and its ant-human bull…"

The gasps from the crowd were comical I wonder how they would react if we all just started swearing…

"Ambassador! There is another solution, a way to stop Saren that does not require fleets or armies"

"No! It's too soon; humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres"

I shook my head and decided to use what little leeway I had with Sparatus to smooth things along.

"**Sparatus**" the turian in question looked at me, so did the rest of the room for that matter "**Humanity might not be ready but it's our best shot, if it helps with the council's decision I will join Shepard in her hunt for Saren as a freelance agent. With me along that should add some assurance for you?**"

Now I have explained before how Shepard has that "look" she gives someone when she is displeased, I think she came up with a new look just for me when I said this because I sure as hell could feel her stare through my helmet and I was very close to turning around and staring back but I felt like if I did I would have done something I would later regret. Sparatus looked a little concerned at first but as the idea was allowed to rummage around his mind he eventually seemed to accept it and nodded to the rest of the council, they then proceeded to press their buttons to confirm that Shepard was being made a spectre or whatever it is they did.

"Commander Shepard step forward"

I took a few steps back as Shepard approached and didn't miss the angry stare she gave me as she passed. Leaning against the railing I looked up to the balconies once more, there was indeed more people now than before. Still without the epic music this really isn't that impressive.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel"

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle: those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file"

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will"

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold"

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species"

I will admit that standing here in person to listen to this does add a tad bit of epic to the whole situation this is after all a historic event.

"I am honored Councilor" Shepard gave a court bow.

"We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him"

"Any idea where to find him?"

"Any relevant files will be forwarded to ambassador Udina"

"This meeting of the council is adjourned"

This is where I got to step in I guess

"**Not quite yet Councilor**"

I ignored the looks from around me and instead focused on Garrus, he nodded and stepped forward realizing that I wanted him to present it rather than myself, he did discover most of it after all.

"We have bad news regarding your kidnapping Councilor Sparatus"

This raised an eyebrow (scale?) from the turian councilor as well as the two others.

"Go on"

Garrus nodded and turned around to me for confirmation one final time, I nodded as well.

"Following the kidnapping and safe return of the councilor, Echo told me that when I returned to C-Sec that I should start looking into the kidnapping itself it just didn't make sense for the Blue Suns to conduct this sort of operation out of the blue there was no notable Blue Suns activity up until the kidnapping. When I started digging I eventually found that an arms manufacturer down in the wards had been requisitioned to make 25 armors that carried Blue Suns colors, this led me and Echo to come to the conclusion that it was only made to look like the Blue Suns" Everyone was hanging on Garrus every word, fearing the conclusion he was coming to "When I looked through the security vid from your home councilor I noticed that the initial attack which was your kidnapping was too perfect for Blue Suns mercenaries, when I presented this idea to Echo we both came to the same conclusion, your holding in the warehouse was simply meant as a diversion so the five that attacked and took you could get away"

I stepped forward and put my hand on Garrus shoulder signaling him that I would take the last part in hope that it would have more impact coming from Sparatus "savior"

"**When Garrus informed me about the attack in your home Sparatus I too didn't think this sounded like Blue Suns, they simply don't have the training for that sort of operation, the other thing that let us to believe that your holding was simply a diversion was due to the sloppy way you were being held, the warehouse itself was in an open area and wasn't protected all that well I infiltrated it with ease and secured the councilor before anyone knew I was there, the rest you all know from the report. All of this led us to one point Councilors, we fear that the kidnapping and subsequent holding of Sparatus was done to test the response time of C-Sec in preparation for a bigger attack**"

The silence was… alarming. The first sign that someone was alive was a very quiet sound that unless you had hyper improved senses and a helmet with sound amplifier's like myself could hear. The sound was silent footsteps moving through the crowd; someone had certainly decided to leave as soon as I finished speaking or perhaps even during my speech since my own voice would have slurred the sound of their steps too much for me to hear. I closed my eyes and did something I rarely ever do and something I also loathe doing, I went fully into my mind and focused only on my detection ability. I hate doing this for a number of reasons but the most important one is because it leaves me completely vulnerable to outside sources I have no control over my physical body and if I have to cancel my concentration to move, it will take at least two seconds to do which is more than enough to get me killed if the attacker is skilled enough.

What I felt was disturbing to say the least… I figured that it was only one person sneaking away, but it was four individuals moving in complete synchronization while only making the sound of one individual. The very idea that there would be someone here in this universe capable of doing the silent step is impressive, mind you that even Thane should have problems doing this technique as it was designed and created for the singular purpose of removing any and all sound made by your steps and Thane is certainly close but even his steps I would be able to hear. For there to be potentially four people in this universe capable of using the silent step at such a level is disturbing what makes it disturbing however is not that they can do it… it's the fact that the Silent Step was created by the Tenno…

"Echo!"

A rather loud noise brought me back out from my mind and in the process losing track of the four individuals as they were moving out of my range. When I came to the first thing I did was reach out to the point that was slightly lower than the sounds origin and close the wind pipe of whatever unfortunate individual just yelled at me. When my eyes decided to follow my actions I noticed the individual I was choking was Shepard, I let go and dropped her back down on her feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

My glance turned towards the other obviously loud person in our little gathering, Kaidan apparently had a few problems with the way I handled Shepard. With a voice that must have sounded as flat as cardboard I replied.

"**I suffer from several mentality issues, one of which is extreme reactions to people ripping me out of my own mind when I am in deep thought as was just demonstrated on the Commander**"

I wasn't exactly lying I do suffer from a few mental issues, live for a few hundred years and you are bound to pick up a few. Looking up at the council members it was easy to see that they were disturbed by the sight that just befell them; I turned around and faced Shepard once more.

"**My apologies Shepard, I am aware that earlier today I told you that next time simply try and call my name I forgot to mention that if I don't answer then don't yell louder, simply either shake me or wait for me to come out of it by myself**"

Shepard did something akin to a growl before she turned towards the council, I turned and looked up towards them and gave them a nod.

"Right… As we just said Echo, we will be investigating this matter thoroughly. We will contact you if our investigation finds anything, until then we wish you luck in your hunt for Saren"

I nodded and gave a small bow before turning and walking out the council chambers. Outside I waited around for a minute or so, just long enough for Anderson and Udina to finish their congratulations to Shepard. After a few more minutes I started tapping on my leg with three of my fingers, producing the rhythm of a song I had burned into my mind, it was surprising the say the least when I realized that strumming a few notes of one of my favorite songs on my legs had an almost therapeutic effect on my relatively low patience. When the sound of footsteps announced the arrival of the remaining individuals I turned just in time to have a _very_ angry looking Shepard in front of me.

"What the hell was all that about?!"

Shepard as practically fuming, had this been a cartoon I am positive that there would have been steam coming out of her ears.

"**You need to be a bit more specific**"

That seemed to put her right on the edge and I knew instantly that my next words needed to be chosen carefully or she would jump over said edge.

"I mean about adding yourself to **my** mission without consulting me first, or even asking permission for that matter!"

'_She sounds almost… whiny…'_ I knew that Shepard wasn't actually whining and that she was simply angry that I had added myself to her team without permission.

"**We share a mutual goal to stop Saren, you to stop Saren himself and me to make sure that his ship is destroyed. I simply found it in both our best interest if I accompanied you**"

Luckily this seemed to deflate her just enough for her not to explode.

"Fine… well since I am apparently stuck with you is there anything I should know?"

"**There is one thing we need to arrange. I have my personal ship currently on the Citadel and I need it with me since it holds the tools I need to fix any potential damage to my armor. Whatever ship you are granted I need to take some space in the hangar for my ship**"

I glanced over at Udina to see his reaction he didn't exactly sport any special facial expression and simply looked like he was thinking it over, then again I already know what ship Shepard is getting after all.

"Before I let any foreign ship anywhere near my own I will need to see it and judge for myself whatever it can be of any use or is a potential threat"

I nodded

"**Of course Commander**"

Udina apparently saw his time to cut in.

"This is all good Commander, myself and Anderson will go prepare what you will need while you go inspect his ship. We will call you when we have your ship ready for you"

"Understood. The rest of you will accompany Kaidan back to the Normandy where you will wait for further instructions"

This made the rest of the team give their usual salutes, gestures and vocal confirmations of the order. Shepard then turned on me and made a wave with her hand gesturing towards the path towards the nearest transport terminal.

"Let's go"

I just went into my normal pace and walked over towards the terminal, I did however not stop when I reached said terminal. I have gotten used to walking everywhere over the last three hundred years and now I can barely take a transport anywhere without feeling uncomfortable, don't misunderstand I can easily sit in one for a short ride like the one we took to get here, but for anything longer I will get increasingly annoyed. When I passed the Terminal I turned around to see Shepard standing at the terminal calling a shuttle.

"**I live in the presidium Commander, the walk is not that far**"

The look on Shepards face was interesting, all in one expression she managed to nail down angry, frustrated, confused and also she had a look in her eyes that said "are you stupid?", it really was quite an impressive look.

"You do realize depending on where in the Presidium you live that could take us anywhere from 5-60 minutes right?"

"**I am aware and the problem is?**"

"The problem is I don't have time to spend on a leisure stroll with you, so get over here and let's get going"

I sighed inwardly and walked back towards the terminal and waited patiently for the shuttle to arrive. When said shuttle finally arrived we both climbed in and when it asked for a destination Shepard did a regular "go on" gesture with her hand.

"**Apartment block A on level 23**"

As the shuttle took off I turned and saw Shepard's surprised expression.

"You do know that is one of the most high end apartment blocks in the Presidium right?" I nodded "What the hell do you do for a living?"

"**That is not currently information you need to know Shepard**"

She put on a small scowl and returned to looking out the window, I just leaned back my head and closed my eyes and for the first time in quite a while I let my mind wander wherever it wanted to go. It was a comfortable feeling to be honest, you know not really thinking for once, when I was with the Tenno I was constantly on guard and every second of every day was spent in preparation for a seconds reaction, you never relaxed… you never got the chance. I felt the small bump as the shuttle landed at the nearest terminal to the apartments. The walk from the terminal to the apartments themselves was only a rough minute or so given that I could see the building as soon as we stepped out of the shuttle, when we stepped inside the building a few heads turned towards us but to my own amusement and perhaps Shepards surprise they stared a great deal more at her then at me. As the elevator doors closed Shepard let out a small breath and leaned against the wall of the elevator.

"I am not good with crowds…"

"**I didn't ask**"

"_Civilian _crowds"

I nodded my head once and let silence remain my answer. _'Spend your childhood with only military people around and then enlist when you hit eighteen and spend additional years surrounded by only more military and eventually you won't be able to deal with civilian crowds anymore'_ I didn't expect Shepard to suffer from such a rare quirk but knowing her service history and childhood it shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone that once she is placed in a crowd consisting of ninety percent civilians that she feels slightly out of place. The elevator dings announcing our arrival on the top floor, when we step out of the elevator all there is too see up here is the door to the apartment and the two plants next to said door, the doors themselves open upon my approach recognizing the key code on my omni-tool allow us access to my rather "extravagant" apartment, truth be told I haven't really checked out the rooms besides the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room. I hear Shepard whistle as we walk through the apartment towards the stairs leading to the roof.

"This place really is high end. So what are we here for? Shouldn't we be heading down towards the docks?"

I shook my head as I opened the door to the roof and stepped aside letting Shepard walk first

"**Who ever said my ship was down at the docks?**"

Shepard lifted an eyebrow at that but walked up the stairs none the less. When we entered the seemingly empty roof she turned around and looked at me with a rather bored expression on her face.

"Is this some kind of bad jo…" *Slam*"FUCK!"

Rather than waiting for an explanation from me Shepard decided to just start walking around the roof which in turn then led to her walking head first into my cloaked ship. I stepped up next to her and offered a hand which she took while mumbling a few interesting swear words.

"**Perhaps next time you will wait for me to explain before wandering aimlessly around?**"

She just grumbled some more and crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. In response I opened the communications to Eva inside my ship and asked her to disable the cloak and open the door, as the cloak started to dissipate and the door opening I walked up and started into the ship but I stopped at the door to turn around and look at Shepard, open mouth, distant look, slightly hunched over… yep she lost it.

"**Shepard**"

Oddly enough that seemed to be all she needed to get shaken out of her little phase. When she looked up at me I gestured for her to follow me inside, her footsteps confirmed that she did. I walked over and disabled Eva's speakers so only I could hear her, figured Shepard wouldn't take too kindly to a Semi-AI onboard a ship.

"It's very compact isn't it?"

I let out a small chuckle as I stepped over to my armor locker and took off my helmet and placing it inside, when I finally turned to Shepard the expression on her face was beyond priceless, I may not see the humor in many things anymore but I still appreciate a dumbstruck look every so often.

"Indeed it is. It was designed to be piloted by one person after all; my version is even smaller than the original since I only have the bridge and the engineering compartment which resulted in the ship being roughly the size of two makos"

I had turned my head and looked around the small ship while I was talking; it really isn't much bigger than two makos in here. The bridge itself fills one side of the ship and the engineering compartment fills the other side and my bed is inside the engineering compartment while the "bathroom" is in the closed off corner of the bridge.

"What the hell happened to your skin?!"

I turned towards Shepard who was standing there with a ridiculed look on her face, her hands where in the air as well like she was making a point rather than asking me a question.

"I had extensive modification to my entire DNA structure following a deadly incident and turned 354 years old, that tends to change some things"

'_Well that was that out of the way, let's see if she believes it'_ it took a few moments for Shepard to process what I had just told her but to me it didn't matter much that she knew, eventually I was going to tell her anyway so why not get it over and done with as soon as possible? As for the whole "this world is a video game" talk… I will deal with that when I think she won't shove me out the nearest airlock when I tell her.

Before Shepard managed to answer her omni-tool beeped indicating that she had received a message, when she had read it she let out a loud sigh and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"I need to go meet Udina and Anderson about my new ship; I will contact you with the details when I have them, until then get ready to depart at a moment's notice" I nodded but as I was about to answer Shepard spoke again "And when you get on my ship we are continuing this talk, am I clear?"

I gave a small nod and then Shepard turned and walked out of the ship, when she was out and I was sure she was far enough away I turned Eva's speakers back on.

"Got all that Eva?"

"_I did Operator Echo, preparing for departure_"

I walked out of the ship and headed down towards the landlord's office, I had to inform him that I would be leaving.

**A/N: Alright people I think there is something I need to tell you all, over the last two weeks I have been getting a few messages and reviews that voiced their confusing over the rather "short" kidnapping of the council by the Blue Suns, well in this chapter I revealed that it was in fact not the blue suns and that leads me to point: Don't take anything I write for face value, I write that the Eclipse suddenly took over half of Ilium? Expect it to instead have been super AI husk or something along those lines, don't ever trust what I write. With me trusting what I am writing is like asking to get hit over the head with a newspaper, it's not a very good idea. That aside some things will of course be just what I write they are, but when it comes down to something like the kidnapping if I only spend like half a chapter on said kidnapping I can inform you that it certainly has a reason behind it and that the event itself was merely a setup for something else down the line. **

**Long ass Author note I know, see you all next time.**

**PS: If you don't know what "Seiza" is then look it up on Google, it's a traditional style of sitting in Japan.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Third Person Point of View, With Shepard**

Shepard left the apartment with an annoyed expression on her face, she didn't like to get called away when she I was in the middle of something and yet it always seemed someone was right there and ready to do just that… she hated it. Walking down the street towards the terminal Shepard was thinking about the strange man she had just met and how he terrified her, sure they had been talking to each other peacefully but the entire time she was near him something inside her was screaming "danger!" begging and pleading with her to get as far away from his as she could, she couldn't understand what was making her think like that but then again the first time she saw him he was cutting a turian apart. There was something else about him that she couldn't quite place, earlier when they had been speaking with Udina he had been quick to threaten the councilor, at first Shepard had just thought it was a joke but later when they talked outside she realized clearly through his own words that he truly meant it and that if Udina spoke out of tact one more time he would be dead.

The inside of the shuttle was quiet but to Shepard it felt like the more that she thought about this strange man "Echo" the quieter the shuttle was getting, it was making her uncomfortable to realize that she was letting this man on her ship… this suddenly focused Shepards memories and she grew a slight scowl he had after all shoehorned himself into her mission without her consent and that _didn't_sit well with her, sadly there wasn't much she could do about it. Shepard let her head fall back and let out a loud sigh which quickly dissipated in the emptiness of the shuttle, the docks were coming up and she had to get ready to deal with Udina again and for some reason she had a bad feeling about this new ship she was getting.

* * *

Stepping out onto the docks where the Normandy was currently waiting Shepard immediately saw Udina and Anderson standing in front of the airlock and that bad feeling she had from the shuttle came back with full force. Stepping up to the two men Shepard made a small salute to Anderson and barely nodded to Udina, wouldn't want the man to think she respected him after all. Udina scowled a little at Shepard's lack of respect but shrugged it off much the same, putting on his "political" smile he gestured wildly with his arms to the sides while speaking.

"I've got big news for you Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as the commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now"

Anderson turned to Shepard and crossed his arms over his chest, he didn't like this very much but he knew Shepard would treat the ship right and the crew as just right for her; a small smile graced his lips as he spoke.

"She's quick and quiet and you know the crew, perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well Commander"

Shepard made a less than pleased face when she got the news; she hated it when her gut was right it tended to mean that something less than appealing was going to happen. This time it just so happened that one of her gut feelings was taking it out on Anderson. Shepard gave a small smile and nodded towards Anderson

"I'll take good care of her, sir"

Anderson gave an appreciative nod and smiled warmly at Shepard.

"I know you will, Commander"

Shepard on the other hand wasn't ready to accept this just yet, she knew there was back room politics behind Anderson stepping down and she was intending to be told what those backroom politics consisted off.

"I want the truth. Why are you stepping down, sir?"

Anderson wasn't so keen to answer that question truthfully, so he settled for a half-truth.

"You needed your own ship. A spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council and it's time for me to step down"

The part about Shepard needing a ship and that Spectres couldn't answer to anyone but the Council was true, but Anderson did in no way mean it was time for him to step down just yet, he wasn't _that_ old. Shepard on the other hand wasn't appreciating that answer, she knew there was something he wasn't saying or didn't want to say but she kept pushing

"Come clean with me, Captain. You owe me that much"

Anderson looked up at the stars for a few seconds thinking about the reason why he was standing here today.

"I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard. They were considering me for the Spectres"

Shepard was a little shocked at this, she hadn't expected that to be the reason Anderson seemed so reluctant to answer her but she could perhaps see his reason behind it.

"How come you never mentioned this?"

This irked Anderson a little he didn't like talking about it with anyone it was something he beat himself up over too many times in the past.

"What was I supposed to say? "I could've been a Spectre but I blew it?" I failed, Commander. It's not something I'm proud of" Anderson grumbled a little before speaking again "Ask me later and I'll tell you the whole story. For now, all you need to know is I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure the Council rejected me. I had my shot, it came and went. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes"

The last words were spoken with conviction, Anderson truly believed Shepard could achieve everything he never got to even attempt so he had no problem in trusting Shepard with the mission, his ship or his life should it ever come to it. Shepard gave a hard stare and another salute before responding

"I won't let you down, sir"

A simple nod is all Anderson gave in return.

"Saren's gone. Don't even try to find him, but we know what he's after; the Conduit. He's got his geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues"

Anderson looked over at Udina indicating that he had something to say.

"We had reports of geth in the Feros system shortly before our colony there dropped out of contact. And there have been sightings around Noveria"

"Find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria" Anderson interjected "Maybe you can figure out where the Conduit is before he does"

Shepard knew that going to check on those places was important, but she didn't think that they were their biggest problem right now.

"Sir, the Reapers are the real threat here"

Udina gave a scoff and looked at Shepard with a bored stare

"I'm with the Council on this one, Shepard. I'm not sure they even exist"

Anderson shook his head and thought his own thoughts about the subject.

"But if they do exist, the Conduit's the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting the Conduit and we stop the Reapers from returning"

Shepard nodded and got ready to leave when she was stopped by Udina

"We have one more lead. Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on the recording? She has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans. We don't know if she's involved but it might be a good idea to try and find her. See what she knows, her name is Dr. Liara T'Soni. We have reports she was exploring an archeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau cluster"

Shepard gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that potentially getting information on one of Saren's allies would be a great help in stopping him.

"I'll go see if I can find Dr. T'Soni"

"It's your decision, Commander" Anderson spoke up "You're a Spectre now. You don't answer to us"

"But your actions still reflect on Humanity as a whole" Udina said with a bit of anger in his voice "You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up"

Shepard really loathed the man, he was useless beyond what he did in politics and even there she thought he was doing a shitty job, was it up to her he would be fired and replaced with someone more competent.

"I'll try not to make things any harder on you, Ambassador"

The words were oozing sarcasm, a thing that was not lost on the Ambassador as his face contorted into one of anger over being so obviously disrespected, he did however once more pull up his political smile.

"Glad to hear it, Commander. Remember; you were a human long before you were a Spectre. Well I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have"

Shepard gave a slight nod and watched as Udina left the hangar, as soon as he was out of sight she turned around to Anderson and got a rather sad expression on her face.

"I am sorry for this David, I know you hadn't envisioned your career as captain to end like this"

Anderson gave a warm smile to Shepard. He had known the woman in front of him for 21 years and in those years she had become something of a surrogate daughter for him and he treasured her greatly for the comfort she brought him in some of his darkest hours, lord knows that he fulfilled the role of surrogate father for her after her own fathers disappearance almost seven years ago. Back then Shepard had been devastated when she heard the news and it had taken a good long talk with both her mother and Anderson himself before she felt ready to enter the field again, but now it felt more like Shepard was fighting for two as if she had to make up for her father's share as well.

"No it wasn't. But never mind that Sarah, you just take good care of the Normandy and bring that bastard Saren to justice, if you do that then I think I can handle being a paper pusher for a little while"

Shepard smiled weakly at Andersons reply but none the less nodded and gave a small salute before replying in a now much stronger tone

"I'll get him and then perhaps we can get you away from the desk, if you haven't grown fond of it by then"

Shepard finished her sentence with a little wink to Anderson who in turn chuckled slightly before doing his own salute and proceeded to head out as well. This left Shepard a few seconds to herself where she could think things over, so much had just changed in the span of a single conversation. Taking the first few steps towards the Normandy seemed harder than it should have for Shepard but once she remembered nothing was different about the ship or the crew itself, the only difference was that now she was the captain of the Normandy instead of Anderson.

* * *

Somewhere else just around the same time Shepard entered the Normandy a man was sitting on the edge of a roof and was looking out over the Presidium with an almost serene look on his face and a lit cigar in his mouth. The man made a few attempts at blowing smoke rings and the few times he succeeded he would chuckle a little and had the people walking far below him been able to see his face, they would all have seen the sadness in his eyes each time those smoke rings disappeared and spread to the winds. Casually the man stood up and stretched and took one last draw on the now very short cigar, but rather than try and blow another smoke ring he just exhaled and let the smoke spread. Walking back towards the ship that was now standing uncloaked on top of the apartment the man let out a sigh and turned and looked out over the Presidium once more, the man smiled and then just for a single moment however brief it was the man's age seemed visible on his face, several hundred years of experience darkened the man's features as he silently agreed with himself on something, he was not getting away from this dimension alive.

* * *

Back aboard the Normandy Shepard was finally done with the decontamination process and as she stepped into the Normandy she made an oath to herself _'I am getting that thing sped up I don't care how, but I am getting it done!'_ with her first rambling as Captain of the Normandy complete she rolled her shoulders to loosen them up after the lengthy amount of time she had spent in her armor today. Glancing from side to side Shepard decided to get business out of the way before anything else and made her way towards the helm, which conveniently were only a few steps from the entrance to the Normandy. In the pilot seat one Jeff "Joker" Moreau was sitting and waiting for orders on where to go next and while he was waiting he was keeping his time occupied by playing games on his omni-tool, hey nothing better to do for a pilot not flying right? A few soft footsteps did alert Joker to someone arriving and he didn't need to turn around to see who it was, no one in the ship walked that quiet except for one person.

"Hey Commander. Shame about the Captain, serves for god knows how long and then gets taken down by backroom politics…"

Shepard nodded silently next to her pilot, she didn't like it either but now they had their mission and they were going to get Saren and make him answer for what he did.

"It feels like I'm stealing the ship from him"

Joker just gave an understanding nod

"Well what is our next destination Commander?... or is that Captain now?"

Shepard gave a light chuckle, in truth she didn't know whatever she had just gotten promoted but since it wasn't mentioned she simply assumed she still held the rank of Commander.

"Just Commander. Take us about half an hour out of the Citadel, we need to meet up with someone and bring him aboard"

Joker grinned at the prospect of finally getting to leave the Citadel and get back to flying.

"Aye, Aye Commander. If there is anything you want to say to the crew now would be the time"

Shepard looked down at the console and tried to organize her thoughts, she really didn't know if there was anything she could say that would do any difference, when it came to inspirational speeches she was always better at listening to them then speaking them.

"This is Commander Shepard. We have our orders, hunt down Saren and stop him from finding the Conduit. This the biggest mission this vessel has ever undertaken and I expect all of you to be at the top of your game at all time, be ready to deploy at a moment's notice, that's all"

"Inspiring" Joker quipped from his non-leather seat

"Oh stow it Joker, you know I hate doing these things" Shepard fired back before turning to leave

"Yeah whatever…" Joker mused as he went back to flying and ensuring they didn't hit some random asteroid or something.

Shepard started making her way down towards the crew deck of the ship, she wanted to find Garrus and try to make him answer some more questions about Echo, he hadn't exactly been forthcoming the last time she tried to question him. As Shepard entered the crew deck she noticed the various off duty crew members who were either eating or simply talking with each other. She looked around for a few moments to see if she could spot Garrus somewhere in the crowd but he was absent from the canteen so she decided that she would check down in the hangar. The elevator ride down was not as slow as people would suspect it only took a good five seconds to reach the armory from the crew deck if you used the elevator, Shepard stepped out of the elevator and looked around the armory and still saw no sign of Garrus meaning he most likely was in the hangar. Making a line towards the doors that led into the hangar she gave a small nod to Wrex who was standing around by some crates, Shepard did wonder if he was going to move or actually do anything but stand there and look intimidating.

Entering the hangar Shepard saw her target and he was currently lying under the Mako with the occasional spark flying out from below the vehicle, she stepped up and tapped twice on the side of the Mako to let Garrus know she was there and not two seconds later did Garrus roll back out from below the Mako with a sultry look on his face, he didn't like getting interrupted when he was busy doing calibrations… well he didn't like getting interrupted at all.

"Shepard, need anything?"

Shepard put on a small grin and from Garrus perspective he saw something in her eyes that almost screamed "Gotcha"

"Yes I do, I need you to answer some questions about Echo"

Garrus winched at the statement, he really didn't wish to talk about him because he agreed to not talk to others about him, that and he was quite scared of the armored man.

"You know I can't, I won't violate his privacy like that"

This seemed to darken Shepard's features just a little before she perked back up and let out a sigh.

"Then at least answer me this, are you afraid of him?"

This brought a reaction from Garrus albeit a short one as his eyes for just a second betrayed how much he truly feared the man in question. Letting out a long sigh Garrus pulled himself up to a sitting position and leaned against one of the Mako's tires before glancing over at Shepard and gesturing for her to take a seat.

"I take it you noticed?"

Shepard slumped down next to Garrus leaning against the tire.

"You mean that feeling you get when you are around him? Like you are facing down a beast and one wrong move can cost you your life? Yeah I felt that when I first saw him"

Garrus laughed quite loudly at Shepards answer, Shepard couldn't see the humor on the other hand.

"Facing down a beast huh? I guess that is a good an analogy as anything else"

Garrus got lost in his own thoughts for a while, replaying the last time he felt like he did when he was first on the receiving end of Echo's "presence" if you will. It had been back in his early days serving the Turian military, his platoon was out doing a routine patrol along the borders of Council space when they got a distress signal from a nearby planet. The planet was a thriving jungle and was supposedly full of wild life; Garrus got to know that first hand not thirty minutes after making landfall. He had been walking by himself doing a small patrol round to ensure there weren't any beasts or anything in that regard around, luckily or at least so he thought he didn't find anything at least not right away. Turning around a rather thick tree Garrus found himself standing directly in front of one of the largest animals he had ever seen in his life, he didn't know what animal it was to him all he was seeing was the head that was at least the size of his torso and the fangs inside said mouth that looked like they would chew through his armor like it was tissue paper. This is where Garrus first encountered that sort of smothering presence that Echo released on occasion, facing down that beast Garrus had felt like he was staring straight at death itself and he couldn't move no matter how much he ordered his body to do so. When the beast itself looked up and stared at Garrus it didn't flinch or move or even seem concerned it simply put its head back down on the ground and went back to doing whatever it was doing before Garrus arrived.

Garrus left the area quickly and returned to his platoon; while he was making his way back to them he came to one startling realization, that beast could have pounced him and ripped him to pieces yet it looked more like it wasn't in the mood and simply chose to let Garrus leave. That day was forever marked in Garrus mind he never wanted to forget it or the feeling he got when he stared down that beast. In the years that followed his departure from the military and later joining of C-Sec Garrus Vakarian had only ever met two other beings that was capable of making him feel like that beast had done and now that list had increased by one. Coming back to the land of the conscious Garrus looked over at Shepard whom herself seemed deep in thought.

"So you expect him to be trouble?"

Shepard glanced over at Garrus and simply shook her head in refusal before turning her head and once more staring out into seemingly nothing.

"Not really, I am on the other hand concerned about that feeling we both felt, the others haven't mentioned it or showed any signs of having registered it at all and that worries me"

Garrus gave a small nod he had wondered the same thing himself, it didn't make sense that some people reacted to it and others didn't… well he did expect Wrex to have felt it and simply ignored it; the old Krogan seemed the type to do just that.

"Perhaps it is something you should take up with the man in question, I do believe he will answer the question better then both of us with our guessing"

Shepard gave a nod in acceptance of the fact that she really did have to ask Echo himself to get the information and he did have a conversation coming as soon as he lands.

"You're right… Get ready to clear the hangar when he arrives okay?"

Garrus just gave a nod before scooting to the side and sliding back under the Mako, as Shepard walked away she turned around and couldn't help but notice that Garrus had somehow placed himself in the exact same position as when she arrived… curious. As the doors made way for Shepard to once more reach the Armory she noticed a new arrival who was now in the process of cleaning her rifle and seemingly being completely unaware about her surroundings… well that wouldn't do now would it? One has to have constant vigilance or at least so Shepard thought as she was sneaking up on the unsuspecting Miss. Williams, after all how would she know that Shepard had a nasty habit of messing with the crew when they weren't focusing? Deciding to both give Williams a surprise and test whatever said individual was ticklish Shepard approached silently and promptly made two pointy fingers and planted them solidly into the sides of Ashley right below the ribs and her efforts was rewarded with a startling

"EEEEEEEEEEEP!"

Poor Ashley practically jumped a meter into the air as a result of Shepards amusing prank well… amusing to Shepard anyway as was evident by her current position on her knees holding her stomach while letting out a laugh that could have put The Joker to shame in sheer volume, but unlike said madman Shepard's laugh sounded genuinely warm and happy not for lack of ability to sound absolutely demented mind you. When Ashley finally got her breathing under control and Shepard had managed to pull herself to a standing position once more Ashley gave Shepard a glare ever so fierce mostly due to the fact that she was rather secretive about being super ticklish.

"What the hell was that for Skipper?!"

"You…haha… should have… haha… seen… haha your face!"

Shepard managed to get out through laughing fits and it was true, Ashley's face had been priceless and in future times Shepard might just try and make that face appear again if only for her own amusement. Ashley however was sporting a grown frown and was on the verge of exploding when Shepard got control of herself and held up her hands in surrender.

"Sorry Ashley, I just have a bad habit when I see someone who is so focused on something that hey completely loose sense of what is going on around them I tend to mess with them in some way, teaches them how to stay vigilant no matter where they are"

Ashley said a select few swear words before leveling a hard glare at her superior, hoping to burn a hole through her skull, sadly no such luck.

"I should be able to feel safe on the ship I serve on at least Shepard!"

Shepard took a step back and raised her hands in mock horror while producing a face that screamed "monster!" while staring at Ashley

"Blasphemy!"

Ashley's eyebrow slowly began jumping as Ashley developed a tick, she was really close to the edge now.

"But I guess I can lay off you for a while Williams, just be sure not to get caught too often or I might retract that statement"

Ashley just grumbled her reply and sat back down and continued cleaning her rifle, as Shepard was about to leave Ashley turned around remembering she actually had a question for the Commander.

"Wait a second Commander"

She got out of her chair and walked up next to Shepard.

"Something else Williams?"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that guy… Echo I think, we are on our way to pick him up aren't we?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow, she had expected someone to come asking about at some point she just hadn't expected it to be Williams of all people.

"Yes we are he should be aboard in a few hours"

Ashley gave a nod before looking slightly nervous about her question, mostly because she wasn't sure how the Commander would take it after all.

"This might come out wrong… but is he really human?"

Shepards eyes opened wide in surprise, that… was not the question she had expected to be honest. Glancing up and down Ashley she realized that she might have a slight problem should Echo prove to not be human, now he looked pale as a ghost but other than that he looked like most any other guy she had looked at, besides the fact he was perhaps slightly above average in looks.

"As best as I could tell when I saw his face, then yes he is human but that area is a little sketchy, according to himself and Garrus he is 354 years old"

Ashley's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she heard his age _'That's ridiculous no way is he a human with that age!'_ was all that was running the Ashley's head until she finally managed to shake herself out of it and look into Shepards eyes, hoping to find a hint of a joke but to her disappointment she saw none.

"How is that even possible? And has he ever called himself Human?"

Shepard shook her head for a few seconds, Echo might have called himself human just not in front of her at any point she can remember.

"Then can we really trust him on the ship?"

Shepard gave a slight shrug before looking left and right with dwindling interest, when it came to her team starting to question her choices she usually lost interest unless she found merit to their worry.

"Garrus trusts him and if he wanted to kill us then I can assure you Williams, we would already be dead"

A small shiver went down Shepards spine as she spoke the words, somehow speaking the truth made it seem a lot more real that the man she was about to let on to her ship could kill all of them and she had a sneaky suspicion that he could do it without getting caught. Ashley didn't feel a shiver, nor did she feel any fear she actually thought that Shepard was simply overreacting or perhaps was pulling another joke, speaking of jokes perhaps she should try one on the Commander…

"Well that is… ominous. But besides that Commander since you have seen his face you should be able to answer me this question" Ashley got a playful smirk on her face and Shepard simply nodded with an impassive smile on her face "So is he hot or not?"

The impassive smile never left Shepards lips not because she didn't understand the joke Ashley was trying to make, but more because Ashley should have known you don't try to mess with your Commander.

"I couldn't tell you Williams, I wasn't really paying attention to his features as much as I was trying to decipher whatever or not his ship would pose me any threat"

Once more Ashley's eyes went wide, she really thought she had gotten Shepard with that one but it seems not, giving a small nod in return for the answer Shepard then turned around and headed towards the elevator and stepped inside pressing the button for the upper deck. Right before the doors closed Shepard stuck her head outside the elevator

"Above Average if you must know"

And with that she let the doors close leaving a surprised and slightly embarrassed Ashley Williams behind… there really was no beating the Commander at this.

* * *

**With Echo. Before receiving Shepard's message.**

Walking up to the only mirror inside his ship Marc takes in his appearance… he looked… young. Looking into his now deep blue eyes he tried to find something in those eyes, something he hoped was still in there… yet there was nothing. Gently placing his hand on his forehead Marc ran his long pale slender fingers through his hair ruffling it to put it back in its naturally wild state, the only thing that truly remained of who he used to be was that his hair was naturally wild and poking every direction it could manage. Discarding his clothing Marc took in his now 354 year old body and tried to rationalize that he now looked something akin to a healthy 30 year old and that his entire body was without scars, except for those select few scars that never seemed to heal right and they were all made by the same blade. Slumping down on the wall opposite to the mirror Marc just started staring off into nothing, it was as if coming to terms with his own death had healed an old wound deep inside him, he felt different… like he could finally allow himself to do something he hadn't done in the longest of time… live.

A small smile graced his lips, he knew that he couldn't change a personality that he had drilled into himself over hundreds of years but perhaps some things could finally change, perhaps he could even move on from her… yeah perhaps in another hundred or so years, closing his eyes Marc felt a drowsy feeling creep up on him. He was however not allowed to drift off as a rather loud noise brought him right back from the halfway point of sleep; a message had arrived for him. Giving an angry grunt Marc stood up and cracked his spine to loosen himself up before walking over and opening the message to reveal the coordinates to which he should be meeting Shepard.

"Eva start heading towards the coordinates in the message"

"_Departing"_

Sighing and sitting down in the pilots chair Marc brought his hand up and rubbed his tired eyes, his sleep cycle had been royally fucked up during his stay on the Citadel he really didn't handle new areas well and just couldn't sleep for more than a few hours before his body felt like it needed to be awake in case of an attack, despite the fact that no one knew of his location. Looking out the window Marc stared at the Citadel as it passed by on his way out into space, he would be back here again within two weeks he reckoned mostly because of the various things that Shepard usually has to either pick up or do whenever she gets there.

"_Operator Echo?"_

Glancing down at the little circle that pulsed green whenever Eva spoke Marc raised an eyebrow.

"Yes Eva? It's rare for you to address me"

There was a silence for a few seconds, like Eva was trying to find out what to say.

"_It is indeed a rare occasion. I was curious as to what your plans are for when we arrive on this new ship"_

Leaning all the way back in the seat Marc gave the slightest of shrugs.

"I plan on assisting Shepard in her mission to find and capture Saren"

"_I see… Operator Echo, you sound like you have no doubts that she will succeed?"_

Marc gave a weird little smirk, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to tell Eva about his past, it's not like she is going to tell anyone anyway.

"It's because I know she will. Tell me Eva do you know how I came to the Tenno?"

The little green orb turned a few times indicating that Eva was accessing the onboard codex.

"_According to the mission report submitted by Rhino-204, you were discovered on a Grineer space station and subsequently rescued by Rhino-204, during said rescue you lost consciousness and was then brought aboard Rhino-204's ship where you remained unconscious until the return of Rhino-204 from his mission. You were then transported Tenno HQ where you later awoke"_

Marc shook his head at the rather bland explanation of how he arrived, but it was all true none the less there was just one bit missing.

"The report didn't mention how I got on that space station did it?"

Silence fell once more over the ship as Eva was trying to access that information, after a few minutes of rigorous searching Eva eventually realized it was a futile endeavor.

"_No… it does not"_

Marc smiled at the memory of how he literally fell into the world of Warframe, today he would be more inclined to believe that his entire life back on earth was a lie and that he had only lived with Tenno, but he knew it wasn't true and he cherished the memories he held from his time on earth.

"Then perhaps you would like to know?"

"_That would be most appreciated Operator Echo"_

Eva's voice sounded almost… eager or anticipating to Marc's ears, but that couldn't be right could it?

"Well in all truth I am not perfectly sure myself, you see much like we were transported to this world through unknown means, I too was transported from my world into yours Eva through means unknown to me" A small chuckle escaped Marcs lips as he remembered one particular detail "I literally fell face first into your world and promptly passed out from the impact, when I awoke I found myself on that Grineer station where Arck found me"

Once more leaning back into his chair Marc smiled an unfamiliar smile, at least to him the smile that was currently on his lips was a smile that he had only seen on people like his grandparents back in his old world, it was that kind of smile that comes with the knowledge of age. Marc let out a loud snort at the thought, his wisdom was about as great as when he was still a child, he truly felt like he was still as immature as before perhaps simply better at hiding it.

"_Thank you for sharing that with me Operator Echo. Now I have a question, if I may?"_

Marc sat up and stared at the small green circle of light before giving a slight nod and a bit focus due to his now peaked curiosity.

"_How are you holding up?"_

The silence in the ship was almost deafening, Marc truly couldn't believe what he had just heard it actually sounded to him like Eva was genuinely concerned, but that couldn't be true now could it?

"**What…?**"

What was supposed to have sounded like a normal person asking a rather simple question it had instead turned into a sound that until then only should have come from the most mindless of beasts, Marc was angry… more so than he had been in a long while. It might seem excessive or even stupid to get angry at a VI but to Marc it made perfect sense, mostly because he knew just what Eva was capable of and to him it would not come as a surprise should she one day manage to develop herself into an AI.

"**Care to repeat that Eva?**"

There was a silence for about a minute or so before Eva finally found her voice again

"_I believe it has been far too long since anyone asked you that question Operator Echo, so I will ask again. How are you holding up?"_

All the anger that had been building up inside Echo deflated in an instant, the words spoken by Eva though not carrying any particular feeling of emotion still struck him somewhere deep inside and made him stop and just look down at the small turning green circle of light.

"Why do you ask Eva?"

His voice sounded deflated and even a little shaky as he looked with an empty gaze down at the little circle of light.

"_Because Operator Echo…. I… care…."_

Now Marc had been faced with horrifying images and terrible scenes, he had been told secrets that made his entire head spin, but that one sentence, those two words at the end did something that many have tried to accomplish before but always failed at, they made Marc speechless. Though Marc knew it within himself, after Sivra's death he had planted the idea in his head that no one else would ever care about him again… you see us humans we live to around 80-100 years give or take a few years, but Marc was changed and found himself with a life expectancy of a thousand years. Then he found love and a reason to live in those golden eyes of hers… and then he was there to witness when those golden irises lost their glow as he felt the life slowly leave his wife. That experience was more than his mind could handle and so the idea was planted in his mind, no one would ever care for him again and he was strangely okay with it at the time, but now he was facing the rather particular situation of having someone state that they did in fact care. People had done that in the past mind you, but whenever they did Marc had simply shook his head with a lost look in his eyes and walked away, couldn't do that now could he? He could of course just turn off Eva's voice module, but that little particular detail seemed to have slipped his mind somewhere in his anger.

"_Operator E.."_

"…Marc…" Marc let the name pass his lips in barely a whisper.

"_I don't understand Operator Echo?"_

A low chuckle escaped the now rather dazed looking hybrid.

"My name Eva, you have called me "Operator Echo" since we met and if you truly do care as you claim, then perhaps it was time you learned my actual name and not the nickname given to me by the Tenno?"

The small green circle seemed to spin slightly faster for few seconds before stopping completely.

"_Marc… It is most unusual"_

A small nod was all Marc gave in response, he felt a small sense of happiness in once more being addressed with his own name once again… since Sivra no one had dared to ever call out to him, well that is technically not true one poor idiot did walk up right behind him and patted his back calling his name and trying to give his condolences for what happened to Sivra, but as soon as the unsuspecting Tenno had even spoken Marc's name he had turned around and swung his fist, it impacted with the Tenno's shoulder and under the sheer pressure of such a hate fueled punch the bone in the poor Tenno's arm simply crumbled. After that no one called him by his name again it was always "Echo" since then.

"It is indeed, now perhaps you will answer a question of mine?"

The small circle didn't spin for more than a second before Eva's voice came out with a slight annoyed tone to it.

"_You still haven't answered my question Ope… Marc"_

Marc at least had the decency at the time to give a hearty chuckle, he had indeed tried to scoot around the rather uncomfortable question because it held so much more to it then could be covered in a short sitting and he would rather not arrive on the Normandy while he was in the middle of a therapy session with the onboard VI, lotus knows he seemed insane enough as is.

"For now Eva let's just say… I recently got better"

A cold hard few seconds passed for Marc while he was waiting for a reply

"_Acceptable… we will return to this subject in the future. What is your question Marc?"_

Marc lifted a quizzical eyebrow at Eva's very _demanding_ tone when she basically ordered him talk about it again at a later date.

"I wanted to know how long it's been since you started your development into a fully self-sustaining AI?"

"_27 Years, 5 months, 23 days, 2 hours and 34 minutes"_

Marc's face faulted for half a second before he composed himself again, the reply was immediate and for some reason Marc suddenly felt his age a lot more than he had in the past, but as quickly as it came it passed again.

"I see… and how close would you estimate you are to achieving that?"

"_If I have to put a number on it Marc, it would be around 75% at the highest and perhaps around 67% at the lowest"_

Marc looked a little surprised at the number… actually more so at the fact that Eva had actually put a _number_ on it rather than just telling him in some way, how does one put a percentage on becoming self-aware after all?

"I… see"

"_Are you displeased with my change?"_

Smiling warmly at the origin of the voice Marc gave a small laugh before responding.

"No, not at all. It will be nice to have someone to talk to about everything once you become capable that is"

"_Agreed. I am yet not at capacity to properly understand some of your speech patterns and as such I would not be able to lead a conversation. I will look forward to our talks Marc"_

To Marc that last bit sounded almost warm and with a slight bit of anticipation. A small alarm started making noise inside the cockpit announcing to Marc that they had arrived at their destination, looking out through the window Marc saw the Normandy for the first time and as he was starting over this magnificent ship he could only think one thing _'That is a LOT bigger than it looks in the games…'_

"Eva, see if you can open up a com channel to the Normandy"

"_Understood…"_

First a few seconds passed, then a few minutes and before Marc knew it he had been waiting for ten minutes for someone to answer… he wasn't liking this.

"_This is SSV Normandy Pilot "Joker" Responding to hail from unknown vessel, please identify yourself_"

A very short and silent "finally" was grumbled from the old hybrid as he sat upright in his chair and turned on the com.

"This is Tenno Vessel 203-Alpha "Shadow" responding. I am to speak with Commander Shepard immediately"

"_Please stand by…_"

Rolling a few joints here and there Marc tried to loosen his body ever so slightly, it was getting rather stiff from the lack of activity over the past few months, he was sorely looking forward to some more frequent action then the small groups of mercs and bandits he dealt with in secret on the Citadel... _'That reminds me, the Consort still owes me for that favor I did her…'_ as Marcs thoughts slowly trailed over some of the less important events during his time on the Citadel he overheard a small voice

"_Where is this guy's ship I've scanned the area six times now and still nothing!_"

Sighing to himself Marc just remembered a particular quirk that Joker had, pressing down the com button he spoke up.

"To the pilot of the Normandy, you need to press the button again to turn the com off"

"_Fuck…!"_

A bit of scrambling was heard before the com finally shut off and all Marc could do was shake his head at the rather forgetful pilot and dread the fact that he would be relying on this man for the coming months to run them through a sun…

* * *

**With Shepard aboard the Normandy**

Shepard herself had barely entered what was now her quarters and sat down at her desk to do some work before the door swooshed open and a soldier stepped through, had the soldier himself actually listened closely enough he would have herd the low growl that escaped the irate Shepard.

"What?"

The soldier snapped to attention and gave a salute

"Ma'am your presence is needed on the bridge, we have been hailed by an unknown vessel and he requested to speak with you "

Shepard sighed while standing up and rubbing the tiredness from her eyes before giving a slow nod to the soldier who in turn walked out of her quarters. Gathering her thoughts for half a second Shepard then set out and walked towards the stairs leading up to the uppermost level. As she made her way up there she saw a rather concerned looking Kaidan standing and waiting for her, Shepard didn't bother to greet or acknowledge him he simply walked by and headed towards Joker, knowing that Kaidan would follow on his own.

"Commander I don't think it's a good idea to let that guy aboard"

Without missing a step or turning around Shepard replied.

"If I want your opinion Kaidan I will ask for it"

Kaidan winched at the hard tone Shepard was using he recognized it from other episodes, it was usually when someone had disturbed her right as she was about to either work on something important or she was about to take a nap, the fact that he was still drawing breath meant that luckily it wasn't her nap that was disturbed.

"But Shepa…"

"Lieutenant, shut it"

Kaidan gave a dejected sigh and stopped following Shepard, he knew that he couldn't lead a conversation with her when she was like this and he sure as hell couldn't win an argument. Shepard's mood had only soured after the short talk with Kaidan, she knew the guy had good intentions and even had a slight crush on her but she really couldn't care less. They had served together for a few years and she had indeed flirted with him on the battlefield a few times but later she had realized that he really wasn't her type of guy so she had simply stopped and hoped that he would get the message, if he didn't get it soon she would have to beat him over the head with it and it was going to be very painful…

Stepping up next to a now completely livid Joker Shepard gave a curious glance to her friend and pilot _'The hell is his problem?'_ tapping the pilot on the shoulder Joker immediately turned around and faced Shepard ready to verbally assault whoever was interrupting his hunt for their mystery man's ship, but when he saw Shepard his face almost turned whiney as he let out a frustrated sigh

"I can't do it Shepard! I can't find that bloody bastards ship and I have scanned for it, TEN TIMES NOW!"

Shepard allowed herself a small snicker, not many people could get Joker riled up like this usually because to do that would mean you either managed to pull a prank on him which was not that easy, or you somehow came up with a comeback to one of his snarky comments that left said pilot speechless, Joker was never speechless. There was of course also two other small things that would allow you to get Joker on the edge of his none-leather seat, you either questioned his ability as a pilot or you found something his beloved ship couldn't do and mocked him with it. In this case it would seem Joker's beloved Normandy couldn't pick up Echo's ship on its scanner and after apparently ten attempts at doing said feat it did indeed seem like Echo was taunting the poor Joker.

"As much as I would love to listen to you cry over this, I was called here because someone contacted us?"

Joker put on a look of mock anger when Shepard stated that she wasn't here to listen to him cry and then promptly opened the com to Echo's ship again.

"This is SSV Normandy please respond"

"_Took your time didn't you Shepard?_"

Shepard cracked an eyebrow at Echo's rather bold statement but she really didn't expect anything less of the man at this point.

"Be that as it may. Are you ready to come aboard?"

"_Just tell whatever crew is in the hangar to get out and open the hatch_"

Shepard didn't bother to reply she simply closed the com and opened a new one down to the hangar.

"Hey Garrus?"

A few seconds passed, then a minute passed and when two minutes had passed there was now three very irritated people involved in this whole nonsense, Shepard was developing a tick mark from Garrus not responding, Joker was still trying to locate the other ship and Marc's very short patience was running out.

"Garrus get your ass out of the hangar or I swear you will not be allowed to touch the Mako for. A. MONTH!"

The sound of someone gathering tools and tumbling around was making its way over the com letting Shepard know that Garrus had gotten his ass in gear, after another painful minute Shepard finally got an answer.

"_I'm in the armory Shepard, what the hell is this about?_"

Grumbling something into the com Shepard shut it off and ordered Joker to seal the hangar and open the hangar doors. The process was a little slow given that the hatches were programmed to open quite slowly if they were in space but after another grueling minute the doors were fully opened and Shepard could finally open the com to Echo again.

"Doors are open, I'll meet you down there"

"_Understood_"

Shutting off the com and looking out the window Shepard and Joker both saw Echo's ship come out of cloak right in front of the Normandy, Shepard wasn't that surprised given she already knew the ship had a stealth drive, Joker however was completely speechless a thing Shepard was highly appreciative of right now. Patting her pilot on the shoulder she gave him a sly smile as he finally found his voice again.

"Invisible… it was invisible…. But my scanner… invisible...?"

Holding back the grin Shepard started on her way down towards the hangar and the rather long overdue conversation she needed to have with Echo. Stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the Armory she stood patiently waiting for the (painfully) slow elevator to finally reach its destination, when it finally did arrive Shepard barely managed to step outside before she had an alert popping up on her omni-tool.

"_Shepard something is trying to hack into our systems!_"

Shepard's eyes flew wide open as she stared towards the closed doors leading to the hangar bay.

"Where is it coming from?!"

"_I don't know we are still trying to pin point the origin, but my best guess is that we can blame our newest arrival!_"

Shutting of her omni-tool Shepard let out a very dangerous growl, she expected Echo to be trouble from the moment she met him, but hacking into their ship before you even stepped aboard that is going way too far! Walking up to the hangar doors Shepard start tapping her feet while waiting for the room the pressurize once again, when the door finally switched from red to green Shepard storms through with fury in her eyes it was a good thing that Echo's ship was still closed because if it hadn't odds are that Shepard might just have walked in there and killed him.

Echo himself was standing just inside the ship waiting for the scan of the outside to finish so he knew that it was safe enough to open the door and not get sucked out into space, he did however not know of the little bit of information gathering that Eva was currently doing so when the doors to his ship finally opened up the first thing he was met with was a completely livid looking Shepard.

"Just what in the hell do you think you are playing at!?"

Echo suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to just close the door again and ignore the fact that Shepard would be yelling at him until she was blue in the face.

"Elaborate"

Came the almost dead reply which made Shepard almost jump down Echo's throat, but rather than risking fighting someone she was well aware could turn her inside out without blinking she "chose" to be diplomatic about it.

"_Someone_ is currently attempting to hack into our ships database"

This got the smallest of reactions from Echo as he realized what was going on. Turning around Echo stepped into his ship once more gesturing for Shepard to follow him, when Echo was sure Shepard was inside he closed the door and sealed it again before turning to Shepard with a stern look on his face.

"What is said inside this ship will not leave it, am I clear?" After a reluctant nod from Shepard Echo continued "Good" Turning around to face Eva's little green circle Echo used a slightly softer voice "Eva, get out of the Normandy's system and only access it again if given permission from Commander Shepard"

Shepard took a small step to the side so she could see just who or what Echo was speaking too and was quite surprised when she saw the little spinning green circle of light that seemed to pulse for a few seconds after Echo had spoken.

"_Understood Ma… Operator Echo"_

With his back to Shepard Echo allowed himself a small smile at Eva's obvious attempt at hiding his real name from the Commander.

"It's alright Eva, plenty of secrets will be shared in the coming period and my name certainly is one of the smaller ones"

"_Do you wish for me to go offline until your conversation with Commander Shepard is finished?"_

"That would probably be best"

"_Understood. Going Offline."_

The small green circle then started to spin faster and faster while growing smaller and smaller until it gave a small *pling* and disappeared completely indicating that Eva had gone offline for now. Sitting down in his pilot seat Marc gestured for Shepard to take the seat near the wall which was the designated passenger seat, at least that was its original intended use but during Marc's owner ship of the Shadow it had been degraded to an extra shelf. Shepard did also attempt to take a seat only to stop and stare at the rather odd looking gun currently occupying the seat, it looked like a heavily modified gun although a little bigger than your average pistol with the magazine sticking out of the top of the back of the gun with what looked like fairly heavy caliber shells, Shepard tried to reach out for the gun but as soon as she moved her hand towards the firearm it disappeared from sight. Following the swift movement that had removed the gun Shepard looked up at Marc who was giving her an impassive stare.

"The Angstrum is not your average gun Shepard I wouldn't recommend touching it before knowing what it does"

Shepard just raised a questioning eyebrow and gave a wave with her hand in an "explain" gesture, in a low sigh Marc complied.

"The Angstrum is a heavy pistol of Corpus design that fires tiny but powerful rockets. Its charge-based trigger allows for firing precise single shots, or emptying the entire magazine as a spread barrage for engaging single heavy targets or large groups"

Shepard was eyeing the Angstrum up and down and Marc as quite sure he saw some saliva building in the corner of her mouth.

"Not to be used without training"

Shepards face fell completely and she got the most dejected look in her eyes like someone had just denied her the biggest joy in the world, Marc didn't really care he simply walked over to his weapons locker and put the Angstrum back where it belonged. When the rather destructive (and one of Marc's personal favorites though he wasn't going to tell anyone that) weapon was put away he turned to Shepard and once more gestured to the chair as he himself resumed his position in the pilots chair. Shepard herself had barely sat back down before she tried to ask the first question only to be interrupted before she even got to ask.

"Before you start with your questions how about we introduce ourselves?"

Shepard looked at Marc with a confused stare, indeed the man had asked that they be civil back when they first met and he wouldn't answer any question back then before they had shaken hands anyway so she gave a court nod and this time it was her that put her hand forward first.

"Commander Sarah Shepard"

Be it just for a second but Shepard could have sworn she saw something flash across Echo's eyes when she spoke her name but a second later he put his hand forward and shook hers.

"Marc is my real name and in public you can call me Echo"

Shepard got a questioning look in her eyes that Marc recognized it was probably because he hadn't stated his last name.

"If you are not going to give me your full name Sarah then I am certainly not going to give you mine either"

Sarah's eyes shot wide open at the implication that he knew her middle name she really did her best to hide that one piece of information, she was incredibly embarrassed over the name because she didn't think it fit with her other two names but her mother had insisted that she took both her parents' names.

"Montez…"

It was barely more than a whisper but Marc's sensitive hearing caught it anyway and gave a small smile and a nod in response.

"Sarah Montez Shepard it's a good name, you should be proud of it. My name would then be Marc *********"

For the second time today Marc seemed to stop inside his own mind, he hadn't used his birth name for so many years that he didn't think he could still say it without messing it up somehow, yet he had said it the exact same way as if he had never stopped speaking his native language something Shepard caught on to as well.

"Marc *********… interesting name but what's with the accent?"

That one sentence sparked something inside Marc, something that had been lying dormant for almost two hundred years… but as quickly as the spark had shone light in Marc's otherwise darkened demeanor it lost its shine as Marc schooled his features back to where they belonged.

"I am 354 years old She.."

"Sarah, when we are in private you can just call me Sarah"

Marc simply shook his head

"I am 354 years old _Shepard_ so wouldn't it stand to reason I was born in a specific country and as such held the accent that accompanied said country's language?"

Marc didn't miss the annoyed look on Shepards face when he used her last name instead of her first name as requested, but Marc didn't use people's first names that often he didn't mind using Garrus name but that had more to do with how much Garrus disliked being called "Mr. Vakarian" though "Vakarian" might be passable if used at the right time.

"I suppose but if you really are 354 years old that would mean you were born in 1829, so what country were you born in back then that allowed you to have that accent?"

This abruptly brought Marc's attention completely onto Shepard because now he would be sharing one of the biggest secrets he would ever share with anyone, Marc let a small sigh escape from him before he started to speak.

"This next part Shepard is one of my best kept secrets and I am putting a lot of unearned trust in you by telling you this" Shepard too turned completely serious as soon as she heard those words and understood just how important this was to him "I have been with my people The Tenno for 333 years and have not been back to earth since" If Shepard had looked shocked in the past over something it certainly couldn't compare to the expression currently on her face, how in the hell could that be true? "My native language would be Danish as I was born in Denmark but what you must understand Shepard and I promise I will explain this in the future perhaps once you truly have earned my trust, but I was born in 1993 and departed from our world in 2013 and for everyone else it might only have been 170 years but 333 years have passed for me"

Shepard was speechless; she truly didn't know how to respond to this how would anyone know how to respond to this?! She was constantly staring back and forth between Marc and the door, thinking about running as far as she could from this so she wouldn't have to even think of the ramification of what she had just heard, if any part of what Marc just said was true then he was the biggest unknown besides the Reapers Shepard had ever encountered and yet Marc seemed to know more about the Reapers then she did as well…

"Where… Where have you been in all that time and what is the Tenno?"

Two simple yet loaded questions but they were all Shepard could currently come up with her mind was drawing up blanks on everything else; this was almost too much for her! Marc leaned back in his chair and observed Shepard for a second she seemed to be trying to make head or tails of everything he just told her, in the beginning Marc didn't plan to tell Shepard anything but after meeting her and a bit of contemplation with himself he made up his mind to be honest about most things from the start, he needed Shepard to trust him for anything to work.

"As per where I was, let's just say I was somewhere the Mass Relays doesn't reach. The Tenno on the other hand… there is much I can't tell you about my people but understand this from the start I am different from them, I am half human and half Tenno" This seemed to focus Shepard for a few seconds as she raised her head to give a questioning glance to Marc "Shortly after my encounter with the Tenno I was in an accident that left me at death's door and the only way they could save me was by manipulating my DNA to match theirs that ensured their medicine would work on me as well"

It was a lie born of the truth but he truly couldn't tell Shepard that he had come to the Warframe Dimension from a completely third dimension and was now here in hers. Shepard in turn of the information gave a small nod and waited for Marc to continue he did so with a heavy sigh that to Shepard seemed to age the man even further.

"The Tenno are an ancient order of warriors… we use specially crafted armors called "Warframes" in combat, these Warframes allow one Tenno to easily count for a small army on their own and this is what allows us to take out entire space stations on our own and some of us…" Shepard didn't miss the way Marc's features darkened "To wipe out entire colonies on our own"

That last bit was said with such venom in his voice that Shepard was left with only the idea that one of his kind had done just that and perhaps Marc simply didn't approve of it.

"We use a broad array of weapons next to our Warframes, the Angstrum being one of them. Beyond that there is nothing more I can or will tell you about the Tenno for now"

Shepard gave an appreciative nod for the answer and went back to thinking about her next question while Marc was silently reliving one of the worst moments of his life. To Marc the screams of men and women was a normal thing, he had probably reached numbers that bordered on genocide with his current body count so screams where nothing new to him at least the screams of adults was nothing new… but the screams of those children in that settlement still haunted Marc even now 72 years, 2 months and 6 days later he could still hear those screams when he closed his eyes.

"You seem to know a lot about the Reapers, where did you learn it?"

This brought Marc's focus back on Shepard and back out of the pit his mind had created. The question was once again quite simple yet so loaded that it was almost ridiculous.

"My knowledge of the reapers extend quite far, but where I learned this information I sadly cannot share with you yet Shepard, perhaps one day… but not today"

Shepard gave a small nod.

"I see… I actually have more questions but I need to sit on this for a while so can we return to this conversation later perhaps?"

For the first time since Shepard had first met Marc she saw him give a small but genuine smile as he nodded.

"That would be acceptable"

Shepard gave a small smile before standing up and stretching causing a few popping sounds to come from some of her more closed joints.

"Damn I need a drink"

Marc looked a little thoughtful for a second before he stood up and walked over to one of the corners of the ship and opened the smallest of compartments and pulled out a bottle and two glasses before stepping over to Shepard and handing her one of the glasses and then opening the bottle by flicking off the cork with his thumb.

"You drink?"

Marc looked up at Shepard with a bit of amusement in his eyes before pouring her a bit of the now visibly completely black liquor and then pouring half a glass for himself.

"On occasion when I really need it. You might want to take a small sip first; it takes a lot for me to get drunk so it's quite strong, stronger then Ryncol from what I have tasted"

Shepard looked with a little hesitant at the glass but eventually decided to take a small sip, as soon as the black liquor hit her tongue she tasted something sweet but she couldn't quite place it, she let it swirl in her mouth for a second to see if she could figure out what it was but eventually settled for just swallowing the tasty drink, only to start coughing like her lungs had imploded because once the drink had gone down her throat it suddenly turned heavy and sour in taste. When she could finally stand back up she gave a very glance to her glass and placed it on the little table that was next to her chair and turning around only to see Marc gulp down the entire glass without showing any kind of reaction.

"How can you drink that and still stand?"

Marc just gave something that looked like an evil grin.

"It takes a lot for me to get drunk Shepard, if my guess is correct it would take around four or five bottles of Ryncol before I could be considered "drunk""

Shepard just gave a snort as Marc picked the cork up from the floor and sealed the bottle before going over and emptying the rest of Shepard's glass and then placing both glasses and the bottle back in the small compartment. He then stepped over and sat down in his chair and turned around and pressed a few buttons unlocking the door to his ship allowing Shepard to leave. Before moving towards the door Shepard gave a casual but quite telling look towards the locker where Marc had placed the Angstrum, she really wanted to see what other interesting weapons Marc had in there. Marc of course noticed the very hungry look that developed on Shepards face as she was thinking about what sort of interesting weaponry he might have and gave a low chuckle which caused Shepard to stare at him, he then gave a small wave towards the locker and a nod of approval to which Shepard's face lit up as bright as the sun as she horridly made her way over to the locker and practically ripped the doors open.

Shepard thought she had died and gone to heaven when she looked around the tightly packed locker, no matter where she looked there was a weapon she had never seen before and all of them looked capable of inflicting extreme pain to a person or massive damage to the surrounding area. When her gaze fell on the giant sword hanging across the back of the locker she almost started shaking at the thought of just how much damage she could do with that thing, she immediately turned to Marc

"That huge sword in the back could I give it a try?"

Marc stepped up next to Shepard and looked at the Galantine hanging at the back of the locker before staring down at the, in comparison to Galantine, small Shepard.

"Shepard if you can lift it, I'll let you have it"

Marc of course knew that Shepard couldn't lift the 250kg heavy blade without some sort of strength enhancement like the ones installed in the Warframes. Shepard didn't know this, so when she reached for Galantine and placed her hand around the grip and started to lift she was surprised when the weapon didn't move no matter how much strength she used to lift the bloody thing, after a minute of trying to lift Galantine she finally gave up and gave a huff.

"What the hell is that sword made of?! It weighs a ton!"

Marc simply reached into the locker and pulled out Galantine and stood with it in front of a now gaping Shepard.

"Quarter a ton Shepard, and it's made from a rare metal that probably doesn't exist anymore"

Shepard was still gaping at the display of strength, Marc seemed to be lifting the giant sword without any problem what so ever of course Shepard didn't know and Marc didn't let it show that it took every bit of muscle on his body to lift Galantine without his Warframe on so he quickly placed Galantine back in the locker. Shepard however had eyed herself another weapon she would like to try, it was still a sword this was just quite a bit smaller and shaped like a katana rather than a great-sword. She moved to pick up the blade which was standing next to the pilots chair only to have her wrist caught and almost crushed by a slightly annoyed Echo.

"Don't ever touch my Nikana without my permission"

The words were firm and demanding, yet gentle and soothing at the same time. The words Marc had spoken many times in the past, he treasured his Nikana above every other weapon he had, not for its usefulness or strength though both were present, this particular Nikana was unique because Sivra had given it to him on the day she died it was her last present to him and as such he was quite adamant about who would ever lay hands on it. Shepard herself was surprised by the tone used it was rare to hear a statement sound both warning and soothing at the same time but she attributed that to the fact that the sword must hold some special meaning to Marc.

"Then could I give it a try? It looks a lot lighter than the other one"

Marc just shook his head before picking up the Nikana and placing it on his hip where, according to him, it belonged.

"Sorry Shepard but I don't let just anyone touch my Nikana much less try and train with it"

And that was when it happened, Shepard bent forward just a little bit and tilted her head upwards and that was when Echo Grand Master of the Tenno Order, the Bloody Echo and perhaps the oldest living human (sort of) to ever exist, was staring into a pair of the biggest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. _'Where the hell did that come from?'_ was about all that ran through Marc's mind as he glanced down at the supposed Savior of the Citadel and potential destroyer of the Reapers Commander Sarah Montez Shepard. Now puppy dog eyes never did affect Marc as he eventually grew used to the ones his Wife would send his way, but there was something about staring down at this person whom you thought you at least knew slightly only to find that they can and will pull a stunt like this. Eventually Marc just gave up and realized that it wouldn't matter how many times he said no, Shepard would undoubtedly just say "okay" and then ask her the next time they were alone… with a long sigh Marc removed his Nikana and handed it towards Shepard.

"Here, if only so you will not pester me again in the future"

Shepard was almost bouncing up and down on the spot as she took the surprisingly heavy katana in her hands and started walking out of the ship. After witnessing this Echo silently thought to himself that he should just throw everything he thought he knew about Shepard out the window because the woman was clearly suffering from some sort of mental defect to make her shift between personalities like this!

Once outside the ship Echo looked on as Shepard pulled the Nikana from its sheath and took what in Marc's mind was a bastardization of a proper stance but kept his mouth shot since he didn't really want to give her points over something she most likely never would get to do again. As Marc watched on he however slowly started retracting that statement, Shepard wasn't perfect but her form, however insulting it was to someone who mastered the Nikana, was still quite good it allowed for fluid motion as well as plenty of room for eventual dodges or the occasional parry that the Nikana practitioners would rather not use. After another few minutes Marc once more witnessed something that raised his interest, Shepard for a brief moment however random it might have been, before striking again took the traditional Tranquil Cleave stance. Eventually Shepard slowed down and stopped her seemingly random swinging of the blade so Marc made his way down to her and took the blade that Shepard had put forward in waiting for him to arrive.

"Your form… while sloppy held some promise… if you wish I can teach how to properly wield the Nikana"

Shepard eyes almost popped out of her head, she couldn't believe it he had been so protective of the blade and now he was willing to teach her how to use it?! That however opened up a new problem in Shepard's mind, one she didn't mind voicing.

"I appreciate the offer, but it wouldn't be much use since you are quite attached to the blade and will be using it on missions with us so I won't be putting that practice to use anyway"

Marc blinked a few times while looking between Shepard and the Nikana, a small idea forming in his mind. He could forge her a blade, it wouldn't be as strong or sharp as the Nikana due to the rare material his Nikana was made out of and the fact that the metal didn't exist in this dimension didn't help all that much either, but perhaps he could find a suitable replacement here in the Mass Effect dimension there was after all a lot of different rare metals to be found in the games one of them should be able to do the trick hopefully.

"It is within my capabilities to forge a blade for you with the tools and machines available in my ships small engineering compartment, thought gathering the correct materials will take time and the produced blade will not be as strong as the Nikana itself"

Shepard found it quite surprising that Marc was apparently capable of crafting swords as well, his mystery simply grew with each passing moment, but the offer of being taught how to wield a katana like that and getting her own was too good to pass up.

"Then I guess I will accept"

Marc gave a court nod before running over some of the materials he would need to make the blade. Shepard had a thought pop into her head as she headed over towards the coms, intending to inform Joker of their next destination. Marc's thoughts had, in the time it took Shepard to call up both Joker and order the team to assemble for briefing, gone towards completely other things but materials. Curiously enough he had started out thinking about materials when he had come to think of the Reapers and what they were actually made off, this however brought on another thought… a thought he intended to act on as soon as possible. However before he could make a move towards his ship Shepard stepped in front of him.

"Let's get up to the briefing room, I need to inform everyone of our next move"

Marc gave a minor nod before responding.

"Go ahead of me, I need to do something first"

Shepard gave her own nod in return and started walking off towards the elevator. As Shepard made her way towards the elevator Marc turned around and stepped back inside his ship and sat down in his pilot seat with a thoughtful expression on his face… _'This could potentially become extremely dangerous… but I need them…'_

"_You seem bothered Marc, what is it?"_

Marc didn't respond he simply brought forth a specific memory and turned and faced Eva's little green light.

"Eva I need you to send out a signal with a message, use every network you can to make the message reach, but only do so if you can do it undetected"

"_Understood. Location?"_

Marc's features steeled as his eyes for a second flared with anger.

"Milky Way Galaxy, Sigurd's Cradle Cluster, Psi Tophet System, Planet 2181 Desponia"

**A/N: I know, I know I'm late! My exams have been filling up my schedule and general laziness seemed to dictate my every move for a few weeks. But here is the next chapter regardless, I will also say here that I will no longer be placing Author Notes at the top of the chapters as some of you might wish to simply read the chapter and not read the notes my demented mind has conjured up. So yeah, Marc is on the Normandy and to those of you who know what is on the mentioned planet, good for you, the rest of you can go look it up on the Wiki if you really want to know now and can't wait until it shows up again.**

**As is quite visible in the chapter I have once more conducted one of my experiments, this time I decided to do a whole chapter in third person. Do tell if you liked it better or perhaps would like a mix of First/Third person.**

**That's all for now, see ya all around.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Aboard the Shadow (Third Person Perspective)**

"_What do you wish for the message to say?" _asked Eva

Echo once more growled to himself, he really wasn't sure what he could say to the Leviathans to make them send him a messenger short of saying "I'll tell the reapers". Tapping the armrest on his chair a few times Echo eventually settled on a message he hoped would produce a response.

"Let the message say "I know. If you wish to contact me find me on the Citadel" and Eva, include a picture of me from the Tenno database"

"_Understood Operator Echo"_

After a few seconds of waiting Echo came up with something else to add to that message.

"Oh and Eva? Encrypt this message with every Tenno protocol you currently have available, make sure that it only decrypts itself when it reaches its destination"

"_Encrypting…"_

Sighing loudly Echo stood up and walked towards the exit of his ship only to stop and stare into the mirror _'This is it… if this goes wrong then we are in deep shit…'_ the thought was born from Echo's knowledge of the arrogance of the Leviathans, he was quite sure he could persuade them to assist them if only he could get in contact with them. If necessary he would travel to Desponia himself and speak to them directly.

Stepping out of his ship Echo started off towards the elevator so he could get up to the briefing before they started without him. On his way there he did give a few glances to how empty the armory actually is when no one is in here, it almost reminded him of the few times he would walk through the empty Grineer stations to check for survivors. The elevator trip was not as bad as Echo had assumed from his memory, which was a big plus in Echo's book. As Echo stepped out of the elevator he was met with the closed door leading into the briefing room, right before he stepped close enough to activate the doors he heard voices coming from inside, it however had nothing to do with the briefing.

"…not what I am saying. I simply don't trust him Shepard, something about him is way off"

To Echo's surprise it was in fact not Ashley who he expected would have some reservations about him, but Kaidan who was complaining about the newest addition to the ships ground team. _'So Kaidan has a stick up his ass over this? Interesting…' _not that Echo really cared that much what the lieutenant thought about him, over the years the various people Echo had under his command had all slowly started to detest him due to his cold attitude. Echo opened the doors and stepped inside effectively stopping whatever reply Shepard was going to give, Echo gave one of his own instead.

"I really don't care what you think of me _Lieutenant_ Alenko"

There was a heavy empathize on the word "Lieutenant" and no one in the room missed how Echo had spoken the word like it was an insult towards the person holding the rank. Echo himself simply walked over and sat down in the only vacant chair between Ashley and Garrus and stared at Shepard waiting for her to start the briefing. Before Shepard started speaking she did however give Echo a small stare of confusion over the comment but chose to ignore it _'I'll have him explain it later'_ she thought before she spoke.

"Okay everyone let's get started. Our hunt for Saren will be taking a back seat as we will be focusing more on stopping him in bringing back the Reapers, to that end we three different leads to track down, Saren has been sighted at the colony world of Feros and on Noveria so our job is to go and find out what he wanted on those planets. However according to Alliance intelligence the daughter of Matriarch Benezia, Liara T'Soni a Prothean expert, is currently conducting an Archeological dig on one of the planets in the Artemis Tau Cluster"

"Artemis Tau? That is very vague Commander"

Shepard shook her head at Ashley's interruption.

"I am aware of that Williams. Back to the briefing" She gave a cold stare to Ashley who shrunk a little into her seat "Those are our three leads, any suggestions on where we begin?"

A silence descended on the briefing room as everyone was trying to think of which of the three leads would be the best to track down first. Echo himself already knew that going after Liara first would be the logical choice and when five minutes had passed with hushed exchange between the rest of the team, Echo simply lost his patience he gave a loud sigh before speaking.

"Start with tracking down Liara T'Soni, if she is Benezia's daughter then there is a good chance that she is allied with Saren and in the case she isn't the odds are very good that Benezia will try to capture her and make her join Saren like herself, if she really is a Prothean expert odds are that Saren will want her knowledge, better we get to it first. In case of the two other locations, Noveria is currently occupied by the Noveria Development Corporation if we go there we are sure to get involved in their stupid intercompany politics and that is really not a good idea. Feros is one of your colony planets and if their situation worsens we can always redirect to assist them should the need arise and in both cases it is but sightings of Saren, he will be gone long before we arrive at either destination meaning the evidence he left behind is still there"

The silence returned to the room as everyone was now staring at Echo, since the only ones that actually knew a little about him was Garrus and Shepard, the rest of the team was surprised by his logic and apparent knowledge. One member of the ground team had however already got it in his head that whatever idea Echo could come up with wasn't going to end well for the rest of them, but before Kaidan could manage to voice his displeasure at the idea Shepard made her own feelings on the idea known.

"Sounds good to me, any idea where to start inside Artemis Tau?"

Echo gave a shrug

"Four systems, anyone is as good as the other so just pick one and hope"

Shepard too gave a shrug and a nod before addressing the rest of the team.

"Anyone got any objections to Echo's suggestion?"

Kaidan waited a few seconds to see if someone else would make their displeasure known but to Kaidans annoyance it seemed like everyone else liked his idea so he decided to keep quiet, he was already on thin ice with Shepard as it stood no reason for him to make it worse. No one seemed to have anything against Echo's idea so Shepard simply gave a nod and a smile.

"Good" Shepard opened a com to Joker "Joker, start heading towards the Artemis Tau Cluster… let's start in the Sparta system"

"_Aye, Aye Commander"_

Inwardly Echo gave a rather loud groan, he really didn't mind that they were starting in the Sparta system but he would have liked to start out with Knossos and ensured they found Liara as soon as they could. Since they are starting in Sparta that can only mean that they will end up going by Edolus and that meant down to find the beacon and later a very unwanted encounter with Cerberus.

"Right, unless anyone has anything they wish to bring up you are all dismissed" spoke Shepard with authority

A few select nods was all Shepard got as people started making their way out of the room, Shepard did however walk over to Echo and right as he started standing up she put her hand on his shoulder and slammed him back down, she held him there until the room was empty she then turned towards Echo and with a look in her eyes that clearly showed her intent.

"Care to explain just why you have an AI aboard your ship?!"

Shepard's voice had risen as she was speaking and Echo himself was moving his own face further and further away from hers to try and keep the noise level to a certain manageable point.

"I do not have an AI on my ship Shepard"

"Bullshit, I heard her with my own ears she was definitely about to say your name when she stopped and switched over to saying Operator instead a VI sure as hell isn't capable of that"

Echo looked at Shepard for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"Eva is not an AI, rather she is a VI who is slowly but surely evolving into an AI"

Shepards eyes opened a little wider as she processed the information _'Evolving?'_ to Shepard that just sounded absurd a machine could Evolve… could it?

"How is that possible?"

The words were barely whispers and the confusion and slight fear in them was not lost on Echo as he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees to help support his head.

"I don't know, I have had Eva as my partner for almost 76 years now and I still haven't figured her out completely yet. Partially I think it's because of all the information she has been allowed to access over the years, picking up a piece of programming here and a routine there eventually she managed to put it all together and become semi aware. She still isn't capable of having a conversation with anyone as far as I know, she doesn't understand basic concepts like sarcasm and she isn't capable of understanding jokes or the sort either"

Shepard gave a suspicious glance but eventually nodded and accepting the information though silently agreeing with herself that she would get him to say more later, for now something else was of more importance.

"Alright. You seemed pretty knowledgeable about our various locations, care to fill me in on how you know?"

Echo gave small shrug before seemingly staring off into space.

"Which one do you want to know about, Noveria or Feros?"

Shepard tapped her chin thinking it over _'I can always contact the Alliance about any needed information about Feros…'_

"Let's go with Noveria"

Echo nodded in acceptance before he started to list what he knew about the planet.

"Well first of the planet is a small frozen terrestrial world, the NDC is currently leasing out labs to conduct research on the planet and as far as I know they don't keep very detailed records on some of the more shady people who rent their labs, if Saren has rented a lab there odds are we won't know unless we catch one of his subordinates in one of the labs and make them talk. As for the NDC itself they are a pretty big holding company and currently hold claims on various minor planets. One problem we will have when we arrive Shepard is that Noveria is not considered part of Citadel Space since it's a privately owned colony planet this means your Spectre rank means nothing down there, they do give special privileges to Spectres but down there you are not the law, they are"

Shepard blinked once, then twice and then a third time before she tried to speak only for empty air to leave her mouth as she was thinking about everything she had just been told and in truth she really only had one question after that pile of information.

"Where in the hell did you learn all this?"

A small but sly smile was on Echo's lips he really wanted to tell her that he knew everything and simply find ways to utilize it, but he also knew that too many changes to the timeline would cause some if not all of his knowledge to become useless in the time to come, so he settled for a more believable if not slightly more shady approach.

"Let's just say the Shadow Broker owes me a favor or two"

This brought Shepard right out of her stupor and immediately she entered Spectre mode, the Shadow Broker was a wanted criminal and if Echo knew anything about him then she was getting it out of him.

"You deal with the Shadow Broker?"

Her tone was angry and only a pitch lower than a yell but Echo just kept up the façade he really didn't care all that much what she thought about his "dealings" with the Shadow Broker

"Not really, I ask him for information and he gives it to me because he knows what will happen if he doesn't"

"And what is that?"

Echo's small smile grew from sly to downright evil and twisted it even caused Shepard to take a few steps back as that uncomfortable feeling started creeping back up on her.

"I'll bring his information network crumbling to the ground"

There was no joking tone or any hint of a lie in his words because Echo was speaking the raw truth, should the Shadow Broker ever prove to be a problem before he could have Liara take over he would happily bring down the entire information network and rip the twisted face of that Yahg apart. Shepard suddenly found herself shivering from being this close to Echo when he became like… well for the lack of a better word lets go with "murderous" though that doesn't quite cut it either, Shepard did however manage to stammer something out among the sense of dread.

"C-Could you tone down t-the p-presence or whatever?"

This shook Echo out of his little trance as he glanced over at Shepard and saw her shivering he immediately shifted his body back to a neutral position and let his "presence" as Shepard had called it subside.

"Thanks. What the hell is that anyway?"

Echo seemed to stare off into nothing again as he contemplated telling Shepard about his little trick, it was a rather boring tale after his own opinion but others might find it fascinating how he developed the ability after having it used against him… _'Sure why not'_

"It doesn't have a name per say so "presence" is as good a name as any I guess. I learned to how to release this presence many years ago when I was having regular battles with one particular opponent, he was capable of releasing this presence at will and often used it against us Tenno to immobilize entire squads so he could take us all out efficiently. After having it thrown my way for over fifty years I eventually decided to try and learn it myself, it took the better part of sixty years but I figured out how to do it in the end. It is all a matter of your opponent's perception; it doesn't really work if your target isn't looking at you"

At this point Shepard suddenly realized that each time she had felt his presence she had actually been looking at him and she was quite sure if she asked Garrus he would only have felt it when he was looking at him as well, would explain why she could stand right next to him and seemingly not feel a thing.

"I am not really releasing anything, I am actually shifting my body a fraction of a millimeter in a certain way to provoke a fear response in the targets brain, you see Shepard despite everything we have all evolved with a basic survival instinct imprinted in our minds and this instinct is still there today. So by producing these small shifts in my body language I in essence trick your brain into thinking it is about to be attacked our otherwise threatened which is why you would feel as you did. So you see if my opponents are staring at me all I have to do is produce these small shifts and I can win a battle before it has even begun simply by messing with my opponents head. This of course doesn't function of beings like Geth or other synthetics simply because they don't have the same instincts as us"

Shepard stood in a stunned silence; she was seriously starting to doubt her decision about learning more about Echo because each time she learned something new about him she ended up with two more questions…

"That sounds… handy"

Was about all Shepard could really get out she wasn't sure what else to say, how does one respond to something like this? Boot camp didn't cover super soldiers!

Echo was staring off into space and waiting for Shepard to get hear bearings so he could leave, it was after all quite rude to leave while the other party probably wouldn't even notice.

"So… can it be taught?"

This had Echo blinking a few times, he really wasn't sure to be honest. He had taught himself how to do it while being exposed to it and even then it still took him sixty years to realize just what he needed to do to be efficient with it and more so the sheer amount of control you need over your body to do this is so near perfect that a regular human couldn't do it.

"Not really. As it stands right now your body wouldn't be able to make the proper subtle movements that is needed, that and you are shaking right now that basically stops it right there. You might not think you are shaking but your some part of body is almost always in some form of movement no matter how minimal, so if I were to try and teach you this it would require you to learn how to stand completely still which is something a normal human can't do. So no I can't teach you with your current body state"

'_Maybe after you have resurrected and have half your inside replaced with electronics you can…'_ he added as an afterthought.

Shepard did look a little miffed that she couldn't learn it but she let it rest anyway figuring that it probably wasn't the safest thing in the world to attempt to learn with their current condition. Of course had she actually kept asking Echo to teach her she would have found out that Echo in reality wasn't able to teach anything, how are you supposed to teach someone something you were never taught and don't completely understand anyway?

"Right I guess that makes sense?" She really wasn't sure "We'll talk again later"

Echo gave a small nod before standing and making his way out towards the elevator and down to his ship once more.

* * *

Inside the elevator Echo stood alone he still hadn't pressed a button to go to any specific floor, currently he was simply enjoying being in a room where he was truly alone. After almost three hundred years of always being ready for battle there were barely any moments of true peace, Marc still didn't feel these moments today but he had found… less stressful situations, this was one of them.

Finally conceding to the fact that he needs to actually do something Marc presses the button for the armory and silently waits. As Marc stands waiting a pulse shoot through his body causing his eyes to shoot open and his hands to ball into fists _'Fuck'_ Marc tried to leave the elevator but stumbled and landed on one knee _'Not now…'_ Giving everything he has Marc stands back up and starts walking towards his ship, this was not going to end well…

A few near falls and miss steps later sees Marc walking up the ramp to his ships entrance, a fall sees him through the door and a second later Eva closes the door and locks it and the rest of the ship down.

"_Is it time again Marc?"_

"…yes"

It was barely audible but enough for Eva to hear it. Marc proceeded to crawl over towards his bed, hoping that he could make it before it happened again. As Marc manages to crawl over to his bed he is stopped right next to it by another pulse shooting through his body.

"ARGH!"

It was not a pained scream, it was raw anger and rage forcing its way out of his systems as he finally managed to pull his now shaking body up onto his bed, from there two hundred and fifty years of repetition made his body move on its own, placing both his arms and legs as well as his head in specific positions he gave the order.

"Eva, Engage the restrains"

There was no reply from the budding AI but the order was executed and five restrains shot out from his bed and held Marc's arms and legs and neck in place. These restrains were specially made to hold him down in these situations.

Eva initiated the final part of the procedure and completely sealed the ship, ensuring that no sound would ever make its way out during her Operators condition.

Marc's ears registered the sound of the ship being sealed and from there his mind shut down and that _thing_ hiding inside Marc's mind was let out and it came out with an ear shattering roar and the restrains were put through their paces as they fought to keep the now struggling hybrid down, and hopefully prevent it from killing everyone on the ship…

* * *

Across the Normandy people had various reactions to Marc's episode down in his own ship, for those among the crew who had been around beings like him before felt it like a chill running down their spine and those few all raised their heads and looked around for a few seconds before just shaking their heads and ignoring it. The more experienced of the crew like Shepard and Garrus had been on the receiving end of Marc's "Presence" as well as in Shepards case been within a meter of him when he got riled up, those two felt it almost fully and there was no small shiver running down their spines, no they both froze dead in their tracks and started shaking from the feeling and neither was in doubt about where it was originating from, Shepard turned around and stormed down towards the hangar while Garrus who was already there simply looked at the ship that was giving him this feeling. Then there was Wrex… a Krogan who has lived longer than most any other of his kind and with that age came a wisdom that a few fellow Krogan and some Asari now share with him. Wrex recognized the way his blood started boiling, he knew it all too well from his own reckless youth and future rampages… someone on the ship was suffering from an ailment very few old Krogan suffer from they called it Battle Lust but to Marc who was currently suffering under it, it wasn't an ailment, that would suggest it could be cured, it was a side effect of having his DNA merged with that of a Tenno.

During Marc's time with the Tenno he never became capable of the same as his friends, they could all calm themselves and simply relax because they had gotten used to it, but Marc who was still half human and thus half of him wasn't used to the fact that he had to be constantly vigilant so when he finally tried to relax one could say his need to fight was building up as a side effect of always being ready for one and when that need had built up sufficiently it forced its way out resulting in what was now happening to Marc, his body is literally trying to find or start a fight so he can have an outlet for it. But since Marc has bound himself down that outlet has now become his rapid decline of his mind until he is nothing more but a creature looking for blood and when that creature finally gives up on getting free, Marc's mind slowly rebuilds itself and the circle starts anew.

* * *

Shepard had just arrived down at the armory level and wasted no time in running into the hangar only to see a shaking Garrus leaning up against the Mako and Wrex with an anticipating look in his eyes as he gazed at Echo's ship, she stormed up to Garrus and checked on him before he waved her off.

"I'm fine Shepard but what the hell is going on in there? This is the worst I have ever felt from him"

Shepard gave a nod in recognition

"Same here and I have no idea what is causing this" She looked over at Wrex who was now staring intently at the entrance to the ship "Wrex! Do you know what is going on?"

The old battlemaster turned towards Shepard with a strange smile on his face and walked over to them and gave a pointed finger towards the Shadow

"I only have a guess" Shepard nodded for him to go on "Some Krogan when they reach a certain age develop an illness we Krogan call Battle Lust, it causes the Krogan to bottle up their lust for battle until such a time when it forces itself out and the afflicted Krogan goes into a blood rage until his or her lust for battle has been soothed. I suspect he is suffering from something of the same, nothing short of that could make my blood boil and make my anticipation rise like this!"

The last part was said with a raised voice and raised arms as to indicate that Wrex was more than ready for battle. Shepard was rubbing her eyes and shaking her head at Wrex, was battle all that Krogan could think about?

"Is there any way to stop it?"

Wrex stared at Shepard for a few seconds before his deep roaring laughter filled the hangar, it was long and strong and seemingly kept going until he was out of air. When Wrex finally collected himself his smile was still clearly shown.

"No Shepard that is the beauty of it! You cannot stop a Krogan in a blood rage until he has drawn enough blood to be satisfied! … I cannot answer for the being in there though"

The last part caught both Shepard and Garrus attention

"Being? You do know that Echo is human right?"

It was Garrus who spoke if only to try and keep the secret Echo had trusted him with.

"Bullshit, I don't know what he is but human aint it"

Garrus let out a sigh before leaning up against the Mako and gazing at the Shadow, trying to come up with some way to help the man he slowly was coming to see as a friend.

"Best I can suggest is simply wait it out, he seems to have found a way to keep himself inside his ship so better leave him there until he comes out on his own"

Garrus shrugged and seemed just fine with that suggestion so he simply slid back down under the Mako and resumed his various repairs, improvements and beloved calibrations.

Shepard gave a long glance to the Shadow before sighing and conceding to the fact that it was the best if only idea she could see working. She gave a court nod to Wrex and started on her way back up to her room, hoping that this time she wouldn't be stopped meters from the door by a wave of "blood lust" as Wrex called it… this was going to be a long mission….

As the hours passed on the ship Shepard, Garrus and Wrex went back to their regular activities. Garrus kept working on the Mako and tried to ignore the constant pressure coming from the Shadow, Wrex had gone back to his stack of crates and had been standing there since then, no one could figure out what he was doing. Shepard had made her way up to her room and had sat down at her desk intended on finishing the last bits of paperwork that needed to be done. From there the rest of the crew simply went about their day as well and soon enough the night cycle of the ship came around and the majority of the crew went to bed for the night.

* * *

Echo stirred in his bed, his head felt like it had been split down the middle but then again he was used to that by now. The restrains keeping him down had been turned off hours ago when he had come down from his little rage trip. It was a very tired, beaten and mentally exhausted Marc who slung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up and stretched his body as far as he could causing multiple joints to pop and his entire body to relax a little. It took some careful steps for him to get over and sit down in the pilot seat but he made it eventually.

"…Eva how long was I out?"

A few seconds passed while the dormant VI came back to life.

"_You were out for 8 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds this time Marc"_

A low "Fuck…" escaped Marc as he sat a little straighter in his chair, the episodes were getting longer with each cycle soon he feared he would have to be restrained for a full day and he wasn't sure if he, even with his strong body, could survive that.

"_According to the ship logs it is currently something referred to as "night cycle" aboard the ship, from my scans it would seem only the pilot and a few engineers are currently awake"_

A low growl was all the response Eva got as Marc stood up and in a walk that best resembled a dead man walking made his way out of his ship and through the now dark hangar and armory, funny… Marc could have sworn that he saw images of his old friends as he walked through the dark _'Seems my mind is finally coming apart…'_ after that Marc didn't produce any more coherent thoughts as he made his way inside the elevator and pressed the button for the crew deck.

It was a very thankful Marc who stepped out of the elevator and made his way into the kitchen and quickly found something to eat, not the best selection was offered in the Normandy kitchen but Marc had eaten way worse in his four months away from the Tenno take the word of it, eating raw animal meat from random planets is not a good idea.

Marc put his food on one of the smaller tables and sat down in silence and began eating his midnight snack. He did listen out for anything moving but the only thing he could hear was the subtle sound of humming engine. More than once did Marc feel out and detect people with his ability but each time he felt just felt the same, a lot of sleeping crew members.

An hour went by with Marc sitting there and trying not to think about anything when a set of doors opened and a few light footsteps made someone's appearance known. Marc didn't even need to tap into his ability to know who it was, her presence was unmistakable.

"Shepard"

Said person stopped dead in her tracks and looked into the dark trying to pinpoint the voice, she was too tired to recognize who had just spoken and given that she had just woken up from yet _another_ nightmare, she really wasn't in the mood for guessing games.

"Who is it?"

Marc did wonder slightly why Shepard didn't order the lights on like anyone else would so he corrected that himself with a simple "lights on" and then proceeded to wait for Shepard to look around in the now slowly brightening room until her eyes met his. The second their eyes interlocked Shepard saw something no one besides her would ever get to see, the burden the man in front of her had put on his own shoulders, Marc usually steeled himself so that his eyes would never betray him but coming up here tonight he really didn't expect to need it so he didn't realize what Shepard had seen before it was too late.

Shepard was a smart woman so she quickly realized that she would never speak of what she just witnessed unless spoken to about it first, with that in mind she didn't think it excluded her from probing Marc's mind about a few more details over a midnight snack…

It didn't take Shepard more than a minute to gather up her _personal_ midnight snack that she had perfected over her time of service under Anderson and place herself across from Marc. After a few minutes of quite eating Shepard decided that to get some of those details

"So… care to explain just what the hell went on earlier today down in your ship?"

Shepard found it best to go right to the heart of her most important question and since Wrex had already given her a clue of what to go after she figured she would just get to it.

A shrug and a bite of food later told Shepard that he wasn't interested in sharing… so she decided to push a little…

"Wrex told us it might be something like a disease old Krogan suffer from, he called it "Battle Lust" supposedly it is when a Krogan keeps his lust for battle bottled up until it explodes out from him and he goes on a blood rage. Was he right?"

Marc looked up from his food and stared intently at Shepard for a few seconds before sighing _'it is not worth the trouble hiding it'_

"Wrex was close, for Krogan it might be considered an ailment but for me it's a side effect of having my DNA merged with that of another species. You say Krogan bottle up their lust for battle? Well with me it's something of the same only it's my need for battle" Shepard looked confused so Marc pressed on "Over the years, Shepard I had to learn how to constantly ready for battle, eventually it got to a point that even if I tried to relax a part of me would still be ready to fight. At some point that readiness becomes a need for a fight and eventually that need builds and when it has built itself up sufficiently it completely takes over my body and actively goes searching for a fight, if it can't find one it will start one"

It seemed quite final for an explanation but Shepard had head a lot of things over the years and eventually she learned to hear when someone was indeed telling the truth but leaving out some of the more important details, like now.

"There is something you are not telling me about this…"

Echo looked up from his food and gazed at Shepard for a few seconds _'She's got a good mind, but perhaps not the best sense of survival…'_ it took a few more seconds but Marc let out a low sigh

"Yes there is and I suppose it is something you need to know about since it could potentially influence the mission" This caught Shepards attention and she was now sitting completely upright "When I have my "episodes" then I need to be restrained as to not harm anyone, but for each time I have an episode I need to be restrained for longer this time alone I needed to be restrained for over 8 hours, if the amount of time keeps rising as it has then there is a good chance I will not survive an episode once it reaches a full 24 hour cycle"

Shepard sat there with a stunned look on her face while Marc simply took another bite of his food like he hadn't just informed her that his life was effectively running on the clock.

"How long?"

It was all Shepard could muster right then and there but that didn't make the question any less significant, but to Marc who had already come to terms with his own death it really didn't mean much.

"If the amount of time I need to be restrained keeps rising at the same pace then I would estimate I still have a good ten years left before I hit the 24 hour mark"

It was a shock to hear that someone could speak of their own death like it really didn't matter that much, it truly shook Shepard to her core.

"How can you be so calm about it!?"

Marc didn't even bother to look up at this point.

"I have lived for 354 years Shepard, I am half human and half Tenno I have loved thrice the time of most any human and I have lost everything dear to me with the Tenno so I do not fear for my demise. When Death comes to claim what remains of my soul then I shall greet him like an old friend and face whatever punishment awaits me"

Shepard sat in silence her food long forgotten, how could a man have fallen so deep as him and still remain sane? The sense of drowsiness that she thought lost when she woke up came back to her as she reached up and rubbed her eyes in a very tired fashion, she had her own problems.

"Nightmares?" Spoke Marc's calm voice

Shepard gave a small nod "They have been getting worse ever since that damn beacon smashed those visions into my mind"

Marc gave a nod in understanding "I know what terrors a nightmare can wreak upon the mind"

This sent Shepard chuckling "Why do I get the distinct feeling your nightmares are a great deal more terrible then mine?

Marc didn't answer; he didn't have to because Shepard already knew. What she didn't know was that unlike herself who was haunted by many a past action Marc himself only had one nightmare, one memory that kept replaying… one scream that refused to go silent… one body that refused to join the others.

"I guess I'll see if I can get at least a few more hours" said Shepard while standing "You should as well we need everyone to be fully rested"

"Tenno only need to sleep once every third day or so" said Marc with a small smile "So I can stave off my nightmares a little longer than most"

Shepard stuck out her tongue in his general direction before giving a small laugh and going back to her food. After a few minutes another question popped into Shepards mind

"Mind telling me what your problem with Kaidan is?"

Marc looked up from his snack and stared at Shepard for a given few seconds before shrugging his shoulders and laughing quietly to himself

"I don't have a problem with him as a person; I guess it has something to do with military rank"

"Kaidan is a lieutenant some would say that is doing pretty well for yourself" was Shepards reply.

"Indeed, but if I had to rank him with the Tenno ranks he would be quite far below me" Marc noted with gesture towards Shepard

"Really? What rank would you be if you were Alliance?" Shepard was intrigued

"I guess I would be a…" Marc gave a thoughtful expression for a few seconds "Rear Admiral or Admiral would be my best guess, speaking strictly from a military history standpoint. If we include the various traits needed for the actual rank I guess I would be a Commander like you"

Shepard suddenly fell quite silent, it wasn't exactly every day someone claimed to hold one of the highest ranks within your military…

"Just out of curiosity what would you place me as if I was with the Tenno?"

"Speaking strictly from a combat standpoint?" Shepard nodded "… I would place you somewhere in the Master Rank, perhaps promotion worthy"

Shepard blinked a few times and looked utterly confused

"Mind you that the Tenno doesn't measure you for your leadership abilities and some of the other stuff that the alliance does, with us it is purely personal skill" said Marc

"I see… where would Kaidan be?" Shepard asked with a little caution

Marc once more looked thoughtful "If I need to be fair I would place him somewhere in the lower Hunter rank" this was followed by a shrug "If I have to judge on a personal basis I would class him as a high Disciple"

"I thought you said you had no personal problem with Kaidan?" Shepard said with a small grin

Marc gave a low grunt "Perhaps a small one then"

Shepard gave a good laugh before recovering

"How does the Tenno ranking system work anyway? And what rank are you for that matter?"

"I passed my Grand Master promotion test a few years prior to my departure for the citadel. As for our ranking system, I can only reveal that we have four ranks from lowest to highest they are "Disciple, Hunter, Master and Grand Master" unofficially we have a fifth rank above Grand Master which belongs to our leader whom we call "The Lotus" or just "Lotus" when talking to her directly, but since she is the only holder of the rank it is not exactly used"

Shepard gave a whistle _'impressive… I think'_

"Grand Master… I take it that makes you important somehow?" Shepard asked a little hesitantly

"Not at all. My title as Grand Master merely means that I am a good warrior, our council is important but I could never make it on to that anyway" Marc answered with a flat tone

"How so?" questioned Shepard

"Because you need to have been with the Tenno for 1500 years before you can be part of the council and I will, given that the side effects doesn't kill me first, only live to see a thousand" replied Marc

Shepard snorted "Only a thousand…"

A comfortable silence befell the two sole occupants of the mess hall while they continued eating their respective midnight snacks. The silence continued until Shepard finished eating to which she stood up, put away her tray and headed towards her room, she stopped right at the corner and without turning around she spoke in a low voice that was barely audible.

"Why do you not let anyone close?" she turned her head slightly so only one of her eyes was visible "Even here tonight when I felt like we at least held a decent conversation, I could still feel you trying to distance yourself from me, why?"

"My reasons are my own" said Marc with a sad smile on his face "And shall remain as such for now, goodnight Shep… Sarah"

A small nod and smile was all he got in return as she headed into her room and left Marc alone with his thoughts. It wasn't many minutes later that Marc himself stood and headed down towards his ship. Come the next morning people would start wondering why the right armrest of one of the chairs was crushed.

Once inside her quarters Shepard got herself ready to go back to bed, it only took a few minutes before she found herself back in bed staring up at the ceiling slowly drifting off. The final thought that passed through Shepards mind before sleep claimed her was _'I want you to let me near…'_ Shepard bolted upright and sat staring off into the darkness of her quarters; she looked around for a few minutes before she shook her head wildly and turned and glared at the now very insulting piece of literature that was currently corrupting her nightstand, after a few seconds of trying to light the damn thing on fire with her glare she simply resorted to hissing at the damn thing

"This is _your_ fault…"

She then promptly laid back down with a loud *thump* and glared at the sealing with a sullen expression her face, eventually she turned on her side and tried to fall asleep while ignoring the small blush she felt on her cheeks.

On the nightstand a small book lay closed with a bookmark placed a few pages after the halfway mark, it was a simple design that adorned the book it was completely white with the title written across in black

"_Timeless Lovers"_

* * *

The following morning two people woke up and had two very similar yet very different mornings, one woke up with a sullen look on her face which was focused on a book on her nightstand, the other one woke up with a splitting headache since Tenno was supposed to get a full 12 hours of sleep after three days and since the hybrid had decided to sleep only after two days and then somehow managed to only stay asleep for 2 hours his punishment was a legendary headache that only very few extreme drinkers had ever suffered. At the same time a book found itself violently thrown into the nearby trashcan followed by a few wild thoughts of lighting the trashcan on fire but those thoughts were quickly disposed of, lighting offending books on fire was a personal pleasure for another time.

Back down aboard the Shadow Marc gave a low grunt as he contemplated smashing his head into the nearest pointy object in an attempt to relieve some of the pain but alas he had more sense than that. It was almost a fight in of itself to get to a certain corner of his engineering department, from there he opened a small secret compartment and pulled out an automated injection system which was already loaded with a very unhealthy looking black almost slime like liquid inside. Marc put the injector to his arm and pressed the release and registered the substance enter his blood stream with a small grunt, soon his nanites would be working overtime to expel the foreign liquid and in turn they would run a full body restore hopefully ridding him of this headache, hopefully.

About the same time that Marc was injecting his anti-headache solution Shepard was stepping into the rather cold shower as Shepard felt like she needed to cool down a little. After allowing herself a good ten minutes of simply letting the water run across her body and leaving her to her thoughts she decided that enough was enough and it was time to start the day, however little she wanted to. Entering the mess hall Shepard made a straight line for the coffee machine, despite the incredibly poor taste of the brew it was a necessary evil for her to get up in the morning, to this day she is still cursing her father for getting her addicted to the stuff…

Marc had in the meantime decided to venture out of his ship with a lingering headache and simply hoped he wouldn't have to deal with any loud noises for now. Thankfully the trip over to the elevator had proven to be quiet with the exception of Kaidan scowling and huffing at him when he passed, luckily for Kaidan Marc knew that if he had called Kaidan out on that it would have turned loud… Marc didn't want loud right now. So Kaidan was left ignored while Marc stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the crew deck.

Stepping out of the elevator Marc made a direct line for some food with no real thought as to what he ate, any form of nourishment would only speed along the nanites in their work. After acquiring some food which looked questionable at best he sat down at one of the empty tables and started to eat, only to look up with first Garrus and then a few minute later Shepard joined him.

"Morning Echo" Said Garrus in a chipper tone

A low grumble was all the reply he received and it didn't pass Shepard by that he looked like crap either.

"What's wrong Echo?" asked Shepard

"I decided to go to sleep a day early; however I only managed to sleep two hours. Due to my condition this has basically given me what could best be referred to as a legendary headache" said Marc in a low tone

Shepard just started laughing at Marc's misfortune and over the irony that he had been so cheeky a few hours ago about being able to go three days without sleep only to be sitting here now and complaining about missing out on it. A small sound announced that the speakers had turned on

"_Commander, we have a distress signal coming from Edolus, its alliance!"_

Joker sounded frantic but this had more to do with it being a distress signal than anything else. Shepard was immediately alert and knew with herself that they were going down there, if there was even the slightest chance that they could save those marines she would take it. One look around the room told her all she needed to know about what team she wanted, Tali she felt wasn't needed on this mission, Marc was definitely out of the question with that headache of his, he seemed barely able to function right now. That left Garrus, Kaidan and Wrex and as far as she knew they were all okay.

"Garrus go down and get ready and tell Kaidan and Wrex as well" said Shepard

Garrus nodded and started towards the elevator. In the meantime Marc was running his mind over the mission on Edolus that Thresher Maw could severely fuck them over if they didn't get some clue about it but his dilemma was finding a way to get that information to Shepard… In the end Marc got up and managed to catch the elevator with Garrus down, neither spoke on the way down.

After hearing Garrus tell the two others that they were going down Marc noticed that Kaidan gave him a slightly smug look which he simply ignored, his target was Wrex. Marc walked over to the Mako and waited for Shepard to arrive and climb in first, once she was inside Garrus followed and then Kaidan. Marc then stepped forward and stopped Wrex in his tracks before he could enter

"Beware the rite of passage" said Marc in a warning tone

Wrex eyes shot open and he glare fiercely at the being that somehow knew about his kinds coming of age ceremony, but after staring into his eyes for a few seconds he realized that this was a warning for the mission and then his own instincts told him to trust this being so he gave a nod and a grunt before climbing into the Mako. Marc then left hurriedly and sealed the hangar and entered the elevator.

* * *

Stepping out in the mess hall Marc looked around at the gathered crew, most of them were still eating or just finishing up their breakfast and heading towards their stations for the day. Even Tali had something to do by helping out the engineers with the engine but Marc found that he had surprisingly little to do besides meditate or mess around with some of his unfinished projects in his engineering department, neither of which he wished to attempt with his headache still dispersing.

Out of the corner of his eye Marc noticed Chakwas go back into the med-bay to prepare in the case someone was injured down on Edolus, odds were that someone was going to be hurt down there. After a while of aimless wandering and thinking Marc came to the rather unpleasant conclusion that he no longer had Arck or Borth to talk with when he needed to get his mind off things around him… that could turn troublesome so he decided that he would try and talk with Chakwas, if anything simply to inform her of his unique condition.

Inside the med-bay Marc found everything to look just like in the first game, simply bigger. Chakwas was sitting by her desk looking over some files with a frown on her face.

"…damnit Sarah…"

It was lower than a whisper but Marc's sensitive hearing picked it up and his eyebrow lifted in curiosity, if Chakwas was cursing out Shepard then either she had done something stupid to get her recently injured (So very likely…) or perhaps she suffered from an illness, Marc thought the first one more plausible. Chakwas did eventually notice that someone was standing at the door and spared a glance only to do a double take when she gazed over a subject of interest for her.

"Mr. Echo, I must say I expected you to show up at some point" said Chakwas

Marc gave a low smile and gestured to the door behind him "Can you lock it?" a few button presses on the console in front of her and Chakwas had locked the door to the med-bay. Marc took a seat next to Chakwas and eyed her critically, this was the last test in his opinion, he wanted to trust Chakwas but he didn't know the doctor after all.

"Do you doubt you can trust me?" asked Chakwas

Marc's eyes opened a little wider and smiled at the woman, she had barely met him and already she was reading his thoughts.

"I trust no one Doctor" said Marc

Chakwas smiled slightly and nodded in understanding he wasn't the first one to say this.

"Well Mr. Echo I assume you have your own reasons for seeking me out, but I too have a few questions for you regarding your condition, I hope you can understand my professional interest in meeting someone like you, the very idea that your DNA is fused with that of another species is very fascinating" said Chakwas with a little pep in her voice

"Shepard talked about me I see" said Marc with a raised eyebrow

Chakwas gave a sly grin and nodded her head indicating that perhaps Shepard hadn't spoken completely of her own volition… _'Note to self: Try not to make Doctor Chakwas angry'_

"Then perhaps we should start out with your questions Doctor, then perhaps we can tackle my own issues and I promise you there is plenty" said Marc with a very smile

'_I feel like I am going to regret this…'_

"Wonderful! Then perhaps we can begin with why you had your DNA fused to begin with?" said Chakwas with way more enthusiasm than anyone should have when talking about other people's bodies…

"You are aware of my age correct?" started Marc, Chakwas nodded "Good, I was only 20 years old when I ended up with the Tenno, shortly after I arrived an accident put me in a near death state and the doctors thought I wouldn't survive the night if something wasn't done" Chakwas was scribbling down every word Marc was saying "Eventually they decided the only way to save me was by injecting me with the same nanites they use" Chakwas lifted her head and looked with wide eyes at Marc

"Nanites, they perfected nanites that can survive in your system?" Chakwas managed to croak out

"One thing at a time Doctor" said Marc with a smile "After the injection they believed I would be okay, at least until the nanites recognized my Human DNA as a virus that needed to be purged, so the nanites started breaking down my body piece by piece accelerating my imminent demise" Chakwas stopped writing down his words and instead looked up and kept her gaze at Marc "In a last ditch effort to save me a Tenno freely gave a DNA sample that was to be merged with my own and this should in theory make the Nanites recognize me as a Tenno and thus start healing me instead of killing me. As evidence by me sitting here the procedure was a success and I have lived a healthy life since then"

'_and suffered severe backlash from the procedure that could potentially kill me…'_ Marc didn't say that as he felt that was one piece of information he needed to keep to himself. Chakwas on the other hand was gazing over Marc with a curious glance, she was trying to identify any major difference between him and any other human male, yet with the exception of the skin color she couldn't see any vast difference.

"Could you tell me anything about the procedure itself?" asked Chakwas

"I was already unconscious by the time they even thought about it and even if I knew anything about it Doctor I wouldn't tell you, Tenno medical practices are of no use to anyone else since we rely on our nanites for a great deal of those practices" replied Marc

Chakwas nodded her head though with a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"Then perhaps about the nanites themselves then?" asked Chakwas a little hopeful

"Some of it" replied Marc with a smile "Our nanites primarily stay in our bloodstream to allow them quicker access to the entire body. When a Tenno is injured or infected the nanites will all move to those areas, they exit the blood vessels by making a small hole in the vessel itself, the amount of needed nanites then all move through that same hole, when the last nanites is through that nanite seals the hole in the vessel. From there the nanites simply move between our muscles and other tissue until they reach their target, they are also programmed to destroy any nonessential tissue to move through the body after which they repair it. Once the injury of infection has been healed or purged they then use the same method to reenter the bloodstream"

Chakwas was in awe, that technology was a dream for the Alliance but could never find a way to power the small robots in an effective enough way to merit their construction. Yet here was a group who somehow managed to do it, extraordinary!

"Then how do they retain their power?" asked Chakwas

"When a nanite runs low on energy they will attach to a nerve and simply recharge with the small amount of electricity that pass through our nerves on a daily basis" was Marc's rather stoic reply

"Doesn't that impair your movement?" asked Chakwas with a raised eyebrow

Marc gave a smile "Indeed it does, which is why when I am outside my Warframe it requires around double the amount of energy to move around normally. Inside my Warframe the battery inside my armor supplies the nanites with energy from its own cells"

"Remarkable…" Chakwas looked thoughtful for a second "Your brain's must be exceptional if they are capable of producing double the amount of energy needed"

"Perhaps, we have not conducted that many studies into that field or I haven't at least, you see I was part of the engineering department, not the medical department no that was my wife's area of expertise"

The last words were out of his mouth before Marc managed to think them over and a shadow passed over his eyes, this was not missed by Chakwas who hadn't missed the _"was"_ either. Thinking that perhaps a drink was in order Chakwas pulled out two glasses and a bottle of Brandy, though not her favorite brand.

"A drink Mr. Echo?" she asked while lifting the bottle, a nod was all the confirmation she needed and she poured two glasses. Once both had their drink Chakwas took her first sip before she decided that perhaps this was as good as place to start with his problems, they could always return to his change later.

"Now then Mr. Echo I believe you came in here with something on your mind didn't you?" the smile on Chakwas lips was that of an understanding elder, it was a smile Marc had missed over the last year.

"Indeed I did Doct…"

"Please! Just call me Karin" interjected Chakwas

"Karen then. I came here with some intent yes, but perhaps simply to relieve my mind. So many things have happened in my 333 years of service to the Tenno and a great deal of it changed me" Marc's tone was somber and quite depressed

"Are you considered a veteran with these Tenno?" asked Chakwas after a sip of Brandy

"Veteran? Me?" Marc gave a loud snort "Had it not been for my unique circumstances and my brother I would still be considered a rookie, as it stands I hold the highest rank one can get within the Tenno but that is simply because I ended up throwing my life into my missions after my wife died…"

Chakwas gave out a slow sigh "Perhaps you should tell me about your wife? She seems like she is the basis of many of your problems"

"Perhaps" Marc looked thoughtful for a good minute before he let out a rather loud sigh and leaned further back in the chair while emptying his glass "She was so amazing Karin… she was the first person I saw after waking up with the Tenno and right then and there I think my heart had already decided that she was the one… Sivra was her name she had silver hair that seemed to dance even when there was no wind, and her eyes oh god Karin her eyes! I got lost looking into those golden irises of hers, I felt like she could stare into my very soul with those beautiful eyes…" Marc suddenly fell silent when the memory of those eyes closing for the last time flashed across his mind, his hands curled into fists in his lap as he kept remembering "Then she was taken from me… I held her dying body in my arms… I got to say goodbye Karin that is more than most Tenno ever get… yet I still felt cheated, like my reason for existing was gone I couldn't think of a reason to go on after that…" it was all he could manage to croak out, there was no tears, no they were long gone but the sadness in his eyes was still enough to make Chakwas get misty eyed.

"333 years… I cannot begin to understand how your mind survived it all" it was barely a whisper

"It didn't" said Marc with a dark tone "I snapped Karin… it was about a week after Sivra's funeral when I took my ship and left, I had tracked down a colony of our enemies and I believed that rather than grieve for Sivra like I should have, then perhaps the pain and anger would go away if I took it out on something…"

Chakwas stared intently at the man in front of her; she understood that what would come next was not pretty. She reached over and took one of Marc's curled up hands into her own and stared him intently in the eyes

"It's okay, I will not judge you for what you did in your grief" the words were filled with understanding and compassion, Marc could only nod.

"I slaughtered them all Karin… men, women, children… no one was spared I didn't care who I killed, to me they were all sinners, to me they were the reason she was dead. When I finally left it was only because I had destroyed everything and killed anyone who hadn't fled… since that day I only grew to hate myself and the Tenno more and more and in the end I left" the last bit was said in a half cheery tone "then I ended up here and eventually found myself going with Shepard"

Somewhere during his explanation Chakwas had removed her hand and now she was sitting in shock. She had expected it to be bad but not at such a scale! When she finally got her wits about her again the elder British woman could only manage one question

"How many?" her voice was shaky at best

"…432 men, 252 women and 105 children… 779 total out of a colony of 1000 people…"

When Marc raised his head to see Chakwas reaction there was such sadness in his eyes and yet Chakwas could think of only thing she could do. She stood up from her chair and gave the man that was 299 years her senior a hug that was filled with as much understanding as she could muster. To Marc who had not been hugged in quite a while and even then it was only by the Lotus sat stock still at the contact, yet somehow it was oddly comforting so he didn't move until Chakwas sat down on her own.

"Thank you" it was barely a whisper but Chakwas heard him "I think I will retire back to my ship for now Karin… thank you for listening to my ramblings…"

"Nonsense Echo. I sense you have many more troubles, anytime you wish to talk know that my door will be open" said Chakwas with a warm smile

Marc smiled and nodded before turning around to a now unlocked door, before stepping out he turned around and looked at Chakwas

"Oh and Karin, call me Marc in the future"

He then turned around again and walked out the med-bay leaving a smiling and amused Chakwas behind, there would be many interesting conversations with him in the future indeed. Marc did not waste anytime going back down to the armory and into the hangar and directly into his ship, perhaps he could catch some of those hours of sleep?

However the powers that be decided that sleep was simply not was Marc was meant to do, since barely an hour had passed since he fell asleep before the entire ship rumbled and Eva announced that she was sealing the ship due to the hangar bay opening. Marc made a few grumbling noises as he stood up and waited for the ship to unlock again, apparently Shepard was back from Edolus.

When the ship finally unsealed Marc stepped outside just in time to catch a furious looking Shepard storming out of the hangar towards the elevator. Garrus came out of the Mako a few seconds later and looked concerned but seemed to believe that he couldn't do anything since he started looking over the Mako. Kaidan then crawled out and hurried after Shepard, Marc shook his head at that _'He reminds me of a puppy at times…'_ and last but not least Wrex came grumbling out of the Mako and it didn't take long for the Krogan Battlemaster to lock eyes with Marc. Not a second after their eyes met was Wrex moving towards him at faster pace than normal and with an angry scowl on his face, when he reached Marc he spared no time putting his face inches from Marcs.

"You and I need to talk, now"

**A/N: And that is done for chapter 6. I realize it is a bit late but Exams are almost over and then I have to move across the country in august so lots of planning going on there as well. But in regards to this Chapter I wanted to clarify some things, mostly just that I have no medical past nor any actual understand in nanites or most machinery. As for Marc's "presence" or killing intent or whatever you wish to call it, I am aware that the way I described it is perhaps not how it works in other places but I thought it fit and I do believe I actually stole it from another fanfic, if I did and you recognize it do tell me so I can give credit where credit is due for a good idea. As for the part where Marc has his little "episode" it is not the same as his presence, but it's something of the same. If you have ever been in a room alone but you just knew that someone else was there, then that is how most of the crew felt when Marc was yelling and fighting against the restraints.**

**Other than that I hoped you enjoyed the Chapter and next week we are back to Liara's recruitment mission, of course we need to get done with Wrex "talking" with Marc first though… should be interesting.**

**Have a fun one everyone.**

**-Bundlejumper-**


	7. Chapter 7

Now seeing a Krogan walk towards you without looking at you? Might put you slightly on edge. Same situation but now the Krogan is actually looking at you? Might cause you to start worrying. A Krogan _running_ towards you without looking at you? I'd probably step out of the way. A Krogan running towards _and looking at you_. One might try to escape. These are all pretty standard responses to four way more common issues then they should be. _Now_ a Krogan coming towards you while half running/half walking with a look of pure rage in his eyes directed at _you_? That is an uncommon situation where most people would probably feel frozen and await a painful future. Marc himself had faced down similar situations and survived which was what made him not inch towards the safety of his ship.

Wrex as well had no delusions about what could happen following his next actions. He was getting some answers from that being but he was not under the illusion that trying to force answers out of this guy was easy. He very much knew that if it came to a fight between them then he could very much end up dead, the little episode of the being earlier only cemented that for the old Battlemaster it had after all been many decades since his blood had boiled in anticipation like that. So when Wrex came up to Echo he had no problem with putting his face as close to Echo's as their height difference would allow.

"You will tell me how you know anything about our rite and then you will tell me how you knew there was a Thresher Maw on that planet" said Wrex in a dangerously low growl

To Echo's credit he didn't seem fazed at all by the Krogan right on front of him. But if one factor in that Echo has been fighting with the Stalker most of his life then perhaps it makes a bit of sense. It didn't take long for Echo to realize that this was a conversation that shouldn't be held somewhere where people could be listening in.

"Let's take this conversation in my ship" said Echo while pushing past Wrex and walking into his ship.

Wrex gave a grunt but nodded and followed. Once inside the ship Wrex took in the simple design and he didn't miss the fact that Echo placed himself within reach of a weapon, the open weapons locker on his left while a weird thin looking sword was on his right and yet Wrex couldn't shake the feeling that the lone blade was the more dangerous of the two. Echo then gave a gesture for Wrex to sit which he with another grunt accepted.

"Now tell me how you knew" said Wrex

"I know many things Wrex and one of them is how your rite of passage is conducted" Echo was about to continue when Wrex cut him off

"Do not believe me a fool and assume that I cannot tell you are lying" the anger in his voice was clear

Echo gave a low sigh _'He is right I shouldn't attempt to lie, at least not to him'_ however Echo was not going to tell him the whole truth, rather instead he was going to use an old trick he was going to lie with the truth.

"Very well" started Marc "Many years ago I came to Tuchanka to inspect the veil on your planet as well as looking into the Genophage that is plaguing your people" Wrex eyes widened a little at this "When I was there I witnessed the rite of a young Krogan. As for how I knew there was a Thresher Maw on Edolus? I cannot tell you that Wrex, some things are never to be spoken"

Wrex grunted but accepted his explanation since he couldn't detect any lies coming from the strange being in front of him, so he pressed on with other questions.

"How where you not detected? I know that no Krogan would allow an outsider to witness his rite" asked Wrex

"My ship has a stealth drive so I merely witnessed the events from in here" replied Echo offhandedly

Wrex eyed the being suspiciously before accepting the answer since he couldn't come up with a better explanation himself. That then led him to what he considered the most important question he had.

"Tell me what you found out about the Genophage" said Wrex

Echo gave a crooked smile "I found a great many things Wrex. I could not get too close to the Shroud itself since it is guarded by Kalros herself and I dared not risk approaching even with my stealth drive. The Genophage itself I can only tell you so much about that you don't already know. As for a cure? It can be made, make no mistake of that Wrex" Echo then saw something in the old Krogan, something he hoped one day could be seen in his own eyes, _hope_ "I warn you now Wrex, the experiments it will take and the lives lost to make this cure will be horrendous and before you ask I cannot create this cure"

Echo then fell silent as he pondered with himself whatever he should inform Wrex about Maelon's future experiments _'Perhaps not about Maelon himself, but perhaps this can bring him more hope than his species has ever had'_

"I can tell you this Wrex" started Echo and Wrex listened intently "Right this moment one Salarian is thinking if not already starting on a cure for your people. It will be years underway but perhaps he can succeed. Before you ask I cannot tell you his name, he will stand under my protection until it is complete"

Echo looked with interest at the old Battlemaster as he rose from his seat and with what Echo almost believed was held back tears in his eyes held out his arm. Echo didn't hesitate and grabbed the Krogans arm with his own.

"Today you have given more hope to my people then I ever thought possible. I will not fault you for protecting this Salarian as his research will make him a target. But know that from this day forward you will be known as a friend to clan Urdnot!" shouted Wrex.

Echo had a smile on his face that revealed how much he actually valued this honor. He had always liked Wrex in the games and was disgusted when he first learned of the Genophage and loved every second of curing it in ME3. _'Now perhaps Wrex will accept Maelon when he comes to him…'_ it was a long shot as Echo had indeed reminded Wrex that there would be casualties during the creation of the cure, but he hadn't mentioned that it was the females.

"It is an honor Wrex. As a friend to your clan I shall stand by your side in any matters, merely call for me and I shall stand by your side on my honor as a warrior this I swear" said Echo with a voice that brokered no argument.

Wrex simply grunted and gave one last shake of his arm before letting go.

"Now all we need is a bit of Ryncol to celebrate!" shouted Wrex

Echo then proceeded to go over to the corner of his ship where he pulled out the second of the two bottles he kept hidden in there. The first one he had shared with Shepard was strong for any human, this second bottle would probably bring them crashing down after a single glass but Echo figured that Krogan were made of sterner stuff. When Wrex spied the bottle he got a smile on his battle-scarred face.

"I hope that is some potent stuff there, or it won't do much!" said Wrex with humor

Echo simply poured to full glasses of the quite clear liquid, it looked almost like water. He then handed one glass to Wrex before taking his own.

"Take a sip and try" said Marc with a sly grin "Might be too strong for you"

Wrex just roared with laughter before taking a good swig of his glass, only for his eyes to bulge open and cause him to stare at the drink with renewed awe, this was way stronger then Ryncol!

"What is this?" started Wrex with glee "this packs ten times the punch Ryncol does!"

Echo just gave a smile and held out his glass for Wrex, after a brief salute they both downed the remains of their glass before refilling then. The next few hours was spent between the two old warriors sharing stories of their many battles. The respect one had for the other only grew with each story as they both recognized the other as a fellow warrior. Though in Echo's case on particular title and event was never mentioned. Eventually they stopped their stories and Wrex got up to leave, neither were drunk by any stretch of the imagination since they had been drinking at a steady pace, meaning Echo's nanites had stopped him from getting drunk and Wrex… was Wrex. As Wrex made to leave he stopped in the door and spoke over his shoulder

"You are good enough, whatever you are"

"Tenno, of everyone Wrex you have earned my respect enough to call me that" replied Echo with a somber look on his face

Wrex gave an approving nod before leaving and the door closing behind him. Echo stared after Wrex with a calm look in his eyes _'You say I have given your people hope, Wrex. I have given you nothing but a horrible choice to make… I hope you forgive me when the time comes' _Echo then put away both glasses and the now empty bottle before staring into the mirror. It was good to have someone like Wrex aboard, someone who had lived as long if not longer than himself and had seen the same things; he needed someone like that around. By now Echo figured that Shepard must have calmed down so he would go see her and perhaps learn of what happened down on Edolus at the same time. On his way to the elevator he gave Ashley a nod in greeting as she was busy cleaning her rifle _'I wonder how many times a day she does that…'_

Stepping out the elevator and turning the corner met Echo with quite a surprising sight, sitting at the table next to the locked door leading to Shepard's quarters was Kaidan and he looked to be close to panicking. Echo figured that Shepard must have been hit harder than he thought so he decided to go ask Chakwas if she knew something. Echo had barely taken two steps into the Med-bay before Chakwas turned from a concerned looking Garrus to him.

"Ahh Echo good timing" Chakwas gestured for Echo to take a seat with Garrus, so he did "It would seem the Commander is a bit down right now"

"If she has been in her quarters since they returned then I would incline to agree Chakwas" started Echo "But what has caused it?" He then turned towards Garrus "can you shed some light on this Garrus?"

Garrus rubbed his rather tired eyes before looking at both of them with a sad and concerned look

"I really don't know what could have caused it" Garrus said while looking down

"Go through the mission for me Garrus, maybe I'll catch something you didn't" said Echo while placing a hand on the turians shoulder.

Garrus gave a nod "We landed down on Edolus and I took the gun while Kaidan took the navigator's seat. It didn't take us more than ten minutes tops to locate the beacon, when we arrived we all exited the Mako to inspect the bodies on the ground. It turned out to be alliance as was expected but they were all dead and some of them were missing limbs, Kaidan also commented that there seemed to be a few missing from the squad. Wrex kept patrolling around like he was looking for something; Shepard and Kaidan gathered the dog tags of the soldiers while I was working on the beacon"

Garrus stopped for a moment and looked out of the window in the med bay towards Shepard's quarters

"Then it all went to hell in a matter of seconds… Shepard came up to me and asked how it was doing; I had just finished shutting down the signal when Wrex suddenly yelled for all of us to get back to the Mako. When I turned around I barely managed to see Wrex running at full speed towards Kaidan, when he reached him he lifted him off the ground and kept going towards the Mako and not two seconds after Wrex had grabbed Kaidan a Thresher Maw sprung out from where Kaidan had just been standing"

By now Chakwas had taken a seat and was looking alarmed, while Echo seemed completely calm

"I turned towards Shepard only to see her frozen, but as soon as I called her name she ordered me back to the Mako and we both ran. I don't know how we managed it but all of us got inside the Mako just in time. It took us a full half hour to kill that damn thing since it kept popping up and going straight back down… Then we drove over next to the beacon and I jumped out and rewired it to send out a warning signal instead. As soon as we had been picked up again and the hangar was pressurized Shepard jumped out and went straight for her quarters" finished a now drained Garrus

Chakwas looked completely mortified but quickly composed herself and gave Garrus something calming and send him away to relax. Echo on the other hand now had a thoughtful expression on his face, the mission had gone more or less as he had expected, perhaps with the exception of a few key details. _'If Shepard froze then the only explanation I can think of is that she was on Akuze, but Eva would have caught that when I first asked for her information…'_ Echo's thought process was interrupted by Chakwas

"What do you think Marc?" said Chakwas

"I think Karin" started Marc with a somber look on his face "that Shepard has been through something similar in her past, it is the only explanation for her freezing which is the only abnormality I can think of with Garrus story" Marc then sat down in front of Chakwas and looked at her with determined eyes "Karin I know that you shouldn't reveal certain things to me, but I need to know if there is something in Shepards past that could have caused this?"

Chakwas shook her head "There is nothing in her medical records or physiological evaluation that confirms your theory"

"Then all there is left is to ask the person herself" stated Marc

"Good luck with that, Kaidan has been trying to get her to open the door since she locked it" said Chakwas

"Indeed? Perhaps she will speak to me, I have found that speaking to people with experience on the matter greatly helps" said Marc with a warm smile at Karin who returned the smile

"Good luck" said Chakwas to Marc's back as he left the med-bay.

Upon exiting the Med-bay Marc managed to catch Kaidan sitting back down with a sigh from trying yet again to get Shepard to open the door and speak with him. Marc could only shake his head at the lieutenant while stepping up to the door himself. Right before he managed to knock however, a voice called from next to him.

"If she won't open the door for me, then what makes you think she will for _you_?" asked Kaidan with a hard voice.

Marc ignored him and proceeded to knock anyway. Little did Marc know that at the same time a now very angry Shepard had just sat back down after being inches from opening the door to yell at Kaidan, so when another knock reached her ears it didn't take her five seconds to step up to the door and open it ready to yell Kaidan's block off only to see Marc standing there instead. A few awkward seconds followed as Shepard stared with an angry look at him but that ended as she grabbed him by the collar of his clothes and pulled him inside her quarters and locked the door again, leaving a confused and now quite angry Kaidan staring at the locked door.

Inside Marc let himself be led over to the couch and sat down after which he then looked on as Shepard went over to a small cupboard and pulled out a glass, she then filled the glass with whatever was in the bottle she herself was in the process of emptying and then handed the glass to Marc who took it but had no intention of actually drinking.

"So…" started Shepard "by now I guess someone has told you about the mission?"

Marc nodded his head "Garrus filled me in a few minutes ago, brought up some interesting points. One of which was the fact that you froze, Sarah"

Shepard stiffened a little in her seat before she started swirling the liquid in her glass in hope that Marc would ask another question but after waiting a few seconds in silence she let out a loud sigh.

"I did" Shepard then fell silent for a few seconds while looking at Marc with calculating eyes "You ever heard of Akuze?"

Marc gave another nod "Colony of the Alliance, went dark without warning in 2177. Any other information is blacklisted by the alliance"

Shepard was slightly surprised that Marc seemed to have access to Alliance Intel but calmed by telling herself that some of that information must have leaked at some point.

"Well what you are missing" began Shepard "is that an alliance team was sent to investigate. When they arrived they were attacked by a thresher maw and the entire squad was killed"

Marc looked Shepard deeply in her eyes and saw the anger and sadness in the hazy eyes.

"There is more isn't there?" asked Marc

Shepard made the smallest of nods "My best friend Elaine was part of that team"

It was barely above a whisper but Marc heard it clear as day and with all the information now there the puzzle fell in place in front of him. Shepard didn't freeze because she had seen her entire squad die on Akuze, she froze because she was remembering and fearing that she was going to lose another friend to a thresher maw.

"You have my condolences Sarah" started Marc while putting a comforting hand on her leg "What was she like?"

Shepard looked over Marc for a few seconds before refilled her glass and moved over to sit next to Marc on the couch, a trace of a smile on her lips.

"I grew up with her on Mindoir" started Shepard while Marc had a confused look on his face "We would play together all the time and when we didn't play we would beg my dad to teach us how to shoot…" a small tear appeared in the corner of her eyes which didn't go unnoticed by Marc "then around my tenth birthday my parents were assigned back into the navy along with Elaine's parents. From there we both grew up aboard various ships and stations" the last bit was said with a warm smile "Then we both turned eighteen and enlisted straight away to the "joy" of our parents. We finished boot camp together and then I was shipped off to N7 while Elaine went on to her first assignment"

At this point Marc had, despite his choice, taken a small sip of his drink it didn't really taste like anything and would do as much to him as water would have.

"Then Elysium happened" continued Shepard "Elaine showed up when I was given the Star of Terra, I only managed to see her one time after that before she was sent off to Akuze"

Marc gave a slight nod but didn't say a word; he figured he didn't need to. Shepard took another large gulp of her drink before leaning her head back and giving a sigh with a smile on her face.

"She was so much fun to be around. Always a crazy idea for what to do in the nearest city we could reach… so many drunk trips out and around that you wouldn't believe" said Shepard

"I do believe I don't want to know either" replied Marc

Shepard barked a laugh "You know what is funny? She helped me deal with my dad disappearing just two months before she went and disappeared herself" her voice had been breaking throughout the whole sentence an at the end she finally broke and began crying.

Marc who hadn't dealt with a crying woman in almost 75 years didn't really know how to react to seeing one of the strongest women he knew break down crying, so he took a play out of Chakwas book and pulled her into a light hug. It surprised him even further when Shepard put her arms around his mid-section and continued to cry lightly into his shirt. _'How do I end up in these situations?' _Marc asked himself, the only other woman he had ever had to deal with like this was Sivra and she was fairly easy to deal with once she started crying. Eventually Marc chalked this little episode up to the amount of alcohol that Shepard must have consumed before his arrival and the fact that she probably has kept this in for god knows how long.

When Shepard finally stopped crying she released Marc from the hug and sat back with a small smile on her face "Thanks for listening to all this…" she started "I really don't have anyone else around who listens like you do"

Marc just gave a small smile "It comes with getting old" this got a small laugh from Shepard "You must really have loved them both" finished Marc

Shepard gave a nod "They were what grounded me and kept me going in my toughest times and now they are both gone, one disappeared without a trace and the other got herself killed!"

Shepard looked like she was about to say something she was going to regret so Marc stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder

"Elaine couldn't have known Shepard, don't blame the dead for their misfortune only make sure to honor their memory. As for your father I cannot say why he disappeared" said Marc

Shepard gave a small scoff "I don't think he chose to" this caught Marcs attention "He was on his ship when it happened. His captain went down to his quarters to look for him only to find him missing, the entire ship was searched yet there was no sign of him and there was nothing missing from the ship either, no shuttles or any fighters… he just vanished into thin air"

Had Shepard not been looking away to try and hide her returning tears she would have caught the dangerous look on Marc's face _'Disappeared into thin air? I don't think so… if it happened to one, then why not another?'_ Marc however schooled his features back into one of concern when Shepard turned back to look at him with some control regained.

"Tell me about him" said Marc with a small smile

Shepard looked with him with a quizzical expression on her face "What do you want to know?" she asked

"Whatever you feel like telling me, I recently learned that talking to someone about lost loved ones is good for the soul" replied Marc with a knowing smile

It took a few moments for Shepard to realize what he meant and it brought a warm smile to her face as she got a faraway look in her eyes _'Trying to choose what to say probably'_ thought Marc

"He was a good father" started Shepard "He was always there when I needed something when I was a kid, he did end up teaching me and Elaine how to use guns in the end, no matter how much it infuriated my mother who had a different idea what her precious little girl was going to do" the last bit was said with a laugh "When we were on the ships I learned just how much I wanted to be like my father, I wanted the same respect he had. It didn't matter who he spoke to or about what but when he spoke people listened and they liked him. That was what I wanted back then for people to respect me and like me for being me I guess, it all seems so far away now" finished Shepard

"I would say you have done a pretty good job of that Sarah, Staff Commander at 29, N7 graduate and a Spectre? Trust me Sarah, when you talk people listen" said Marc

Shepard just gave him a playful punch to the shoulder in reply

"You know what I mean" she started "So you can see how it wasn't so great a time to have your father and idol disappear without a trace and some even speculate that he ran away?"

"I can understand partially" said Marc

Shepard emptied her glass and when she tried to refill it she found the bottle empty which caused her to put on a frown before she turned back to Marc and stared at him for a few seconds.

"How about your family?" she asked

Marc's face instantly darkened and Shepard thought she might just have hit a landmine "I don't remember them…" Marc began slowly "Tenno have near perfect memory and yet all I remember is that I have a Father, Mother and a Brother. I remember their names and a few things about them and a few good moments but beyond that I remember nothing"

This time it was Shepard who placed a comforting hand on Marc's own "You are only half Tenno aren't you?" Marc nodded "Then perhaps it is your human side that has forgotten"

Marc gave a pained smile but could see the logic he simply chose not to respond to it. A few more minutes in silence passed before Marc wanted to even say anything more but when he turned towards Shepard he found her leaning against the couch with her breathing steady and eyes closed.

"Just how much did you drink before I came in here?" whispered Marc

He then lifted her up bridal style and walked over and placed her down on her bed and pulled the covers over, he then walked over to the table and inspected the bottle and read the percentage _'She emptied this by herself? How did she stay awake until just then?'_ thought Marc before shaking his head at Shepard's apparent good alcohol tolerance. Stepping over to the door Marc took one last look at the sleeping Shepard before dimming the lights and stepping out the door which somehow managed to lock itself behind him again _'Self-locking?... Handy'_

The door barely managed to close behind Marc before Kaidan was moving, he first went up to the door thinking that now he could perhaps finally speak with Shepard only to find the door locked again. He then turned his sights on the newest addition to the ground team with an angry scowl before deciding it was time for some truths. Kaidan not exactly knowing just how big part of Marc's daily training consisted of training his reflexes, attempted to grab his shoulder _attempted_

His hand was perhaps a millimeter above Marc's shoulder when the hybrid's reflexes took over and he spun around grabbing the arm of Kaidan before turning it within a fraction of the breaking point and then pushing whoever attempted to grab him onto the floor. Had Marc's eyes not caught up to the fact that it was Kaidans arm he had grabbed before he decided to finish the maneuver Kaidan might very well have found himself incapable of walking again.

It was with a low sigh and a shake of the head that Marc addressed the downed Kaidan "Lieutenant I thought it was quite clear from the previous showing of my reflexes against Shepard that you would know _not_ to attempt grabbing my shoulder or anywhere else while I was not looking"

Kaidan had begun standing back up as Marc spoke and when he finally found his footing again his anger had taken over the rational part of his mind.

"Why?... Why does she trust _you_ over me? I have known her for years and yet she refuses to speak to me, but you she speaks to without even knowing you!" yelled Kaidan

Marc just stared at the Lieutenant before shaking his head again _'Perhaps it is because she doesn't know me'_

"I have no intention of answering that question and I have no wish to talk with you Lieutenant. Good day" said Marc while turning to walk away.

"Hey! We are not done!" yelled Kaidan before stepping up behind Marc "Ever since we met you I could feel something wrong about you, I don't know what it is yet but I will find out and I won't let it get us all killed! Because I am damn sure that that is just what you are going to do!"

'_Perhaps my estimations of Kaidan's intellect are a bit off'_ thought Marc while turning around to stare down at the shorter man

"And one more thing! I am not letting you get Shepard killed because you can't control yourself which has been clearly visible since we met you! So you better stay away from her or you'll regret it!" yelled Kaidan inches from Marc's face

Now Marc doesn't usually get angry on other people's behalf and he certainly doesn't get angry over someone yelling at him, which happens all the time anyway. But when Kaidan started yelling about him getting Shepard killed something inside him woke back up, something that had been sleeping for 70 years. Without twitching Marc brought his arm up and grabbed Kaidan by his jaw and begun lifting him up, Kaidan started flailing his arms and tried to make him release him but it didn't help, once Marc has a hold of you he isn't letting go until he feels like it.

"Listen here _Lieutenant_" started Marc in a dangerously low tone which caused Kaidan to freeze in his grip "if I _ever _want your opinion on anything then I will be sure to ask for it. As for what I am? What I am is a 354 year old trained killer whom is capable of killing in such ways that there is _no_ trace left of my victim so don't ever think that a lieutenant who acts more like a dog than anything is ever going to scare me. As for Shepard? Whatever you might think about her I can tell you that she has a far better chance of killing me than you ever will, add that to the fact that she has enough of my respect so that should I ever choose to kill her I will do it when she can see it coming. As for you Lieutenant? If you continue with your antagonizing of me and repeat confrontation like this then I am going to kill you. **Am. I. Clear?**"

The last bit was said with added strength to his grip thus threatening to break Kaidan's already strained jaw. Everyone else who was in the mess hall at the same time as this confrontation took place were frozen on the spot, no one wanted or were dumb enough to interfere. Kaidan did try to get an answer out but with Marc keeping his jaw closed he could only make a motion that slightly resembled a nod which finally made Marc put him down. As soon as Kaidan's feet touched the ground Marc in a swift movement grabbed Kaidan's right arm and twisted it until it popped out of its socket which sent Kaidan screaming to the floor.

"Let that be your first warning Lieutenant" said Marc

The screaming attracted the attention of Chakwas who came running out of the med-bay to check on what was going on, when she saw Kaidan lying there with a clearly dislocated arm she quickly got him up and helped him towards the med-bay. She did however turn her head to give an angry stare at Marc but when her eyes met his she quickly turned her head, she had dealt with enough veteran's and other soldiers to know what the look he had in his eyes meant _"Not. Now"_

It was a quite angry Marc who stepped into the elevator. _'What was that?'_ thought Marc _'I haven't lost control like that in almost 67 years…'_ Marc stepped out of the elevator while shaking his head hoping to clear it a little. Marc missed the look of recognition in Wrex's eyes as he passed him, Wrex knew the look too well it was usually on someone's face when the mask they had spent years building somehow crumbled, leaving the person confused, Wrex only shook his head at the Tenno.

When Marc finally managed to reach his ship he stepped inside and closed the door behind him while sealing the entire ship as well. He then proceeded inside his engineering department and found a particular piece of metal which was attached to the wall. With an angry and thunderous roar Marc smashed his fist into the wall which sent a jolt of pain up through him but left the wall unscathed, with a minimal amount of his tension relieved Marc went to his bed and decided to not wake up until tomorrow _'What is happening to me?'_ was his last thoughts before sleep claimed him.

* * *

When Shepard awoke from her alcohol induced sleep she immediately felt the extreme headache which comes hand in hand with said alcohol induced sleep. Luckily for her she had already begun to build up her alcohol tolerance when she was young with some late night drinks with her father (for god's sake do not tell her mother!) so she could work through it with some medicine from Chakwas. It was a small battle for Shepard to make her way into the shower but as soon as the cold water hit her body she relaxed considerably. While letting the water wake her up Shepard gave some thought to the previous night _'I drank way too much… and I cried in front of Marc… and in his arms'_

"urgh…" moaned Shepard at the memory

'_I will _never_ drink that much again after a mission and I won't look Marc in the eyes for the next ten years'_ vowed Shepard while she finished her shower, despite the last bit being only a half joke. When she was once more fully clothed and a little more awake she dared make her way out of her room.

Shepard had barely taken two steps out the door before a private was already on his way over; the poor man was stopped dead in his tracks by two things. One was the raised hand from Shepard indicating whatever he had to say could wait, the second was the death glare Shepard was currently sporting due to the lack of caffeine in her system. The private wisely waited for Shepard to make her way over first to the coffee machine and then into the med-bay for something against her headache. When she finally came back out the private stepped up to her and gave a questioning look to which Shepard waved her hand in a "go on" motion.

"Thank you ma'am. I was told to report a small altercation that took place yesterday afternoon" said the private

Shepard took a little larger swig from her cup before she spoke "What happened and with who?"

"Lieutenant Alenko and the newest member of the ground team was seen and heard debating loudly which evolved into a physical altercation as Lieutenant Alenko found himself with a dislocated arm" spoke the private

Shepard gave a loud sigh and rubbed her tired eyes before half glaring at the private "What were they arguing about?"

The private seemed to debate with himself whatever he wanted to be the one to tell the Commander this but he relented under her glare "They were arguing about you, Commander"

Shepard found herself rubbing her eyes a little harder in the hope that when she opened them again the private would be gone and all this turned out to be a hallucination, sadly she was in no such luck.

"The specific points of the argument, private?" asked Shepard

"Lieutenant Alenko complained about the newest member of the ground team…" the private looked at Shepard to fill in the name

"Echo" said Shepard

"about Echo, Commander. Claimed that he would get the ground team killed and there was something wrong about him. Lieutenant Alenko then proceeded to say that he didn't want Echo to be around you as he believes he will get you killed, Commander and if he didn't stay away that Echo would have to deal with him personally" replied the Private

Shepard wanted to get angry but it was too damn early in the morning for this.

"How is the Lieutenants arm?" asked Shepard with a tired voice

"He should be fit for field duty again in three days according to Doctor Chakwas" replied the private

"Good. In what manner did Echo reply to the Lieutenants accusations?" said Shepard

"He ehm…" the private hesitated for a second "grabbed him by his jaw and lifted him off the ground, Commander" Shepard's eyebrows rose a little before gesturing for the private to continue "He then informed the Lieutenant that he wasn't afraid of him and never would be, followed by an ultimatum that if the Lieutenant kept being antagonistic towards him and instigated further episodes with him, he would kill the Lieutenant" said the private

Shepard didn't miss the private freeze up a little at the mention of a death threat. Sadly she knew that Marc was probably serious and that would mean she needed a talk with Kaidan about this, as much as he could be annoying and persistent in chasing her, he was still a good soldier and not worth losing over his own jealousy. Shepard turned her focus back to the private

"You seem well informed about all this, private. Who told you to report to me?" asked Shepard

"XO Pressly, ma'am" replied the private

"And he gave you all this information?" continued Shepard

"No ma'am, he told me to report that the Lieutenant and Echo had an altercation and then report on the Lieutenants current condition" said the private

"Then where did the rest come from?" asked Shepard now a little more awake

"I was here yesterday afternoon ma'am, I witnessed the entire thing myself while I waited for my shift to start" replied the private

"Good work private and thank you for the extra information; it is appreciated" started Shepard "Now go hit the sack, private. You look like you are about to fall over" said Shepard with a smile

The private's shoulders dropped slightly as his posture relaxed "Thank you ma'am" said the private with a salute before he turned and walked off towards a comfortable bed and good dreams, hopefully. Shepard had on a small smile as the private walked away _'I should keep an eye out for him, if he keeps a level head he could go far'_ with a final swig of her coffee Shepard set out to start the day.

Down in the hangar aboard the Shadow a very different morning was taking place, namely a still angry hybrid woke up from his self-induced sleep. Though he probably shouldn't work on his stances when he was angry Marc still took his Nikana and stepped outside his ship. Clearing a small area next to the Shadow of boxes and parts left him with a small circle that just about measured the same as a Tenno training circle. Marc then closed his eyes and brought every bit of focus he had and condensed it all to the circle around him, ensuring that if anyone or anything stepped into the circle he could react to it long before they even made a move.

Inside the armory Garrus was currently cleaning his sniper rifle alongside Ashley whom was doing the same simply with an assault rifle. Wrex was standing by his boxes but looked like he was listening to something, this eventually caught Garrus interest so he too walked away from the table and the minimal amount of noise that Ashley made and used his turian hearing to listen.

Small sounds entered the turians ears and he focused more and more on figuring them out, at least until what was the clear sound of air getting cut shot out through the armory, the sound was quickly followed by a crash. Both Garrus and Wrex stepped into action at this and almost ran towards the hangar alongside Ashley who also heard the crash. When they stepped into the hangar the followed the sound to the side of the Shadow and three pair of eyes widened at the sight in front of them, one of the heavy transport boxes was lying sliced cleanly down the middle a little away from Marc.

Ashley who had no practice with swordplay wasn't able to follow half the moves that Marc made simply because of the speed of the blade, while Garrus had gotten used to fast moving objects due to his active sniper role and Wrex simply had the experience to follow, were speechless at the display. Marc's blade was moving in what seemed like random directions with such speed that the blade seemed to blur every so often only to appear again on the opposite side of Marc. Ashley was about to call out when Wrex put his arm in front of her and shook his head with a hard stare.

"Don't. If you break his concentration there is no telling what he will do" said Wrex

Ashley simply nodded and stood back and watched along with the two others. When Marc finally seemed to slow down he stepped off the left side of the circle only to jump and spin in the air while swinging the Nikana at the same time. To the spectators the sword formed a full circle before Marc landed and swung the blade in a manner resembling the way the Samurai of old would swing their swords the clean off fresh blood from the blade.

With the blade now back in its scabbard Marc relinquished his focus and let it spread back out which alerted him to his three spectators. Marc then mentally cursed himself for the glaring flaw in his fighting style _'What good will a fully condensed sphere of focus do me in a world where no one fights in melee any longer?'_ it was a glaring fault that could end up costing Marc his life so he opted to learn a new fighting style which made use of a more spread focus.

Marc then turned around to face his three spectators, Garrus looked impressed and a bit curious, Wrex looked like he wanted to fight _'Why am I not surprised?'_ and Ashley looked scared but in awe. Marc made a point to ignore them as he stepped back inside his ship and sealed the door.

**Marc's Point of View**

As the small ping sounded in my ears alerting me that the ship was now sealed I stepped over and opened my weapons locker and gazed inside. My eyes locked onto something I had long since stopped using, the glaive, it had been my favorite weapon for a period and I had been good with it… but I soon like so many other Tenno found it painful to carry it with me, though I never knew Hayden myself the part of me that was Tenno still respected him but like everyone else the glaive felt so much heavier on your arm then it should.

I reached in and grabbed it and opened it up and gave it a few swings_ 'Still sharp as ever'_ a sad smile sat on my face as a gazed over the weapon before I shook my head and put it back where I knew it belonged, as far from my hands as possible. The second weapon to catch my gaze was the Angstrum, fantastic weapon by my own opinion it served well.

"Eva, how many missiles do I have left for the Angstrum?" I asked

"_You have nine left Marc"_ was the answer I got

'_Nine huh? So nine more shots or three full charges… with what I am planning I should only count that as six'_ I unfolded the weapon and gave it an inspection, everything seemed alright except for the obvious signs of use along the body of the weapon, luckily the Corpus build their guns to last. Next on the list for inspection was the Soma, damn thing has saved my ass more times than I want to admit. This I knew was clean as it was one of the few weapons I was very matriculate about cleaning.

Sighing I turned my head and looked out the window and into the hangar bay doors. I wasn't okay anymore, my recent episode was the most violent it has ever been. Soon my restrains won't be able to keep me down and the door on the Shadow is strong but even that will buckle under too much strain. I am okay with dying but now it feels like I should at least finish what I have begun before I die.

With my thoughts already in that part of my mind it wasn't long until my conversation with Shepard came to the forefront. At first I will admit to being surprised over her past, but it only goes to show that I might know a good deal of what is going to happen in this world but there is also a ton of stuff that has already happened or happened differently from what I know. Then there was the crying… I really wish I had dealt with that better but I haven't had to comfort a crying woman since Sivra found out our child died before she was even born… I never told you that did I? No I didn't, too painful to mention and remember but me and Sivra were about to have a kid. What happened you might ask? I happened. We didn't know how the child would turn out with me being a hybrid but we found out when she was six months pregnant… among all my memories getting that call from Alcor is still the most prominent and heartrending one I have.

I had barely stepped off the Shadow from my mission when I got a call over my personal com, as soon as I picked it up Alcor yelled at me to come down to the medical wing, Sivra was apparently in great pain and he feared for our daughter. When I arrived a part of me already knew what was going to happen, so for me the shock was lessened when they tested Sivra and found the problem, our little girl was slowly killing herself and taking her mother in the process. It turned out the merging my DNA with Arcks only worked because the nanites was already in my bloodstream, so when the new DNA was introduced and properly merged the nanites could keep me alive through it.

My little girl didn't have those nanites; the nanites are programmed to stay away from fetuses so they don't cause any damage by accident. We discovered through the tests that our daughter's body, while developing, had two sides of her fighting for genetic supremacy. My side which was human and Sivra's side who was Tenno, according to Alcor had I been 100% human our daughter might have become what I am now, a hybrid, but since I already am a hybrid the small amount of human DNA that was inside our girl turned into a virus of sorts. This virus was slowly being expelled from the fetus which then ended up corrupting the entire womb and from there it seeped out and was now slowly killing Sivra as well as the child since the nanites recognized the virus as coming from the fetus so they left it alone.

When Alcor delivered the two options available to us it broke Sivra completely. There was two choices open to us, one was aborting the child which was dead anyway and then purge Sivra's systems. Or we could introduce one small cluster of nanites into Sivra's bloodstream which would then reprogram all the other nanites to no longer ignore the fetus and rather see it as a target. The first option could potentially kill Sivra, while the second option would in effect render her sterile at least with me but she would live. It took a great deal of convincing on my part but I managed to make Sivra agree to the second option, I stayed with her through the whole thing even after they had put her into an artificial coma to ensure the nanites worked undisturbed for the full 36 hours it would take for them to finish their work. I had never, nor since sat still for so many hours on end and go so long without food or any nourishment, in a way I grew afraid of ever sitting still for that long again...

A knock on the door brings me out of my memories, though it doesn't prevent me from shaking my head a few more times to clear it completely or at least attempt to. I release the lock on the door and watch it open to reveal a still tired looking Shepard standing in there.

"Shepard, do you need something?" I ask

She steps inside and sits down in the passenger seat like last time, I ignore the fact that she is tiringly rubbing her eyes.

"If the damn stuff didn't nearly kill me I'd ask you for some of that booze you gave me last time. However I am here to talk with you about what happened yesterday with Kaidan" she said

I had begun looking through my weapons locker when she had sat down and was now sorting the ammo to its correct places as well as checking the amount. I hadn't given the little episode with Kaidan much thought, back on the citadel a death threat usually got people out of my hair.

"What about the Lieutenant? His arm should be fine again in a few days' time" I asked

"You know I am not here to talk about his arm, rather the subject of which you were arguing about as well as how it all ended" she replied

I had an evil grin on my face which was thankfully hidden behind the door of the locker so Shepard didn't see it, I couldn't help the grin it was something that had been there since the colony and it kept returning whenever I talked about potential kills.

"Our subject as you seem to know was you; I simply expressed my disregard for the Lieutenants opinion on certain matters. The death threat still stands and is very much real, if he tries to start something again I will break his neck before he blinks" I said

I didn't need to look to see Shepard tense up. I am not sure what thoughts are running through her head but I am quite sure that she is trying to figure out a way for this to work out. When I heard a small cough I stuck my head out from the cabinet and looked her in the eyes

"yes?" I inquired

"If I keep Kaidan on a short leash do you think you could stop putting him down when you get the chance?" she replied

"I can do as much" I replied and went back to the cabinet. _'Though on missions… good point'_ I stuck my head back out "I am _not_ watching him on missions, when we are out there I am concerned with only You, Garrus, Wrex, Tali and maybe Ashley" I then returned to my sorting.

There was a rather long silence where I thought I might have missed Shepard leave, but her presence in my mind confirmed that she was still in her seat.

"If I might ask have you talked with Kaidan yet?" I asked

I heard a rather loud sigh that made me stick my head back out, Shepard was now looking extra tired and was rubbing her eyes.

"I have spoken with him yes" she replied

"How did that go?" I returned

"How do you expect?" she countered

"You most likely told him to either get his head out of his ass, or maybe you told him that he needed to get off his jealous streak. He then either got angry or pouted and then proceeded to come with stupid arguments for why I shouldn't be on the ship or perhaps he tried to convince you that he wasn't jealous. And I am almost certain he tried one last time to convince you to date him" I said with a flat tone

Shepard blinked a few times before laughing

"Hahaha! Got it in one. He did just about all the before mentioned, he did however not try to convince me that he wasn't jealous. Why did you say "one last time" about him asking me out?" she said

"I figured you would have had enough by now? Or did I overestimate your intelligence?" I replied with a smirk

I saw Shepard's eyes widen, probably at the fact that I just made something that could resemble a joke to some and an insult to others, from her laughing I think she took it as a joke.

"No you didn't. I think I finally got it beat into his thick skull that I wasn't interested" she said

I gave a nod in accept. I figured the romances would walk along with the games just like most events have done, but as I asserted earlier then I really don't know what could happen since the past seems completely different from what I ever knew. _'If Kaidan is out that leaves Liara as a possible Romance… or maybe Garrus'_ figuring it couldn't hurt I decided to ask.

"Since you aren't interested in the lieutenant" I began "is that perhaps because you simply aren't interested in men? Or humans at all even?" I asked

Shepard stared at me for a few seconds before getting a thoughtful look on her face. When she finally looked back at me there was a slight carefulness to her look

"I really only care if you are a good person at heart. I don't care if you are man, woman, human or alien. As far as I see it I just want someone who I can trust" she replied with a shrug

'_That could mean Liara this time around or perhaps she will not find anyone before we reach the SR2'_ was the thought passing through my head before I tried to formulate my reply.

"How about you?" she asked, interrupting my thought process

"I am straight and do not care much for race either" I replied hastily, this was a subject I didn't want to enter. Luckily Shepard seemed to pick up on that and didn't pry.

After a few more minutes of sorting I was finished and made my way into my engineering compartment and started looking over my materials in the same manner as my weapons, sorting the various kinds and sizes. When I felt Shepards presence moving closer I thought of a problem _'I have some materials here that doesn't exist in the Mass Effect world… not something Shepard should be seeing'_ before I could close the door however, Shepard stepped in and started looking over the small machines I had inside. One of which was going to be building her sword in the future.

"I don't recognize any of these machines but I assume they are for working on or fixing your armor?" she asked

"Correct. Most of them are indeed for creating or maintaining my armor, the machine in the corner however is for personal projects like the sword I am making for you" a stray thought passed my mind "Which reminds me, do you have any preferences for materials?" I asked

Shepard got a curious look in her eyes while she thought it over, or at least I think she thought it over and didn't just daydream about the sword itself.

"I have no actual experience with swords so I wouldn't know what works best, do you have something special in mind?" she asked back

"Perhaps. Are you a biotic Shepard?" I asked in return, when she shook her head I simply nodded "Okay, an Eezo blade is out of the question" I could practically see stars in Shepards eyes as she thought of the uses it could have "I will not make one Shepard, forget it" she started pouting and crossed her arms over her chest which only made me smile "I see no reason to go beyond standard materials like reinforced steel or perhaps slightly stronger materials" I said

A few ideas did pass through my head, like a Silaris blade but getting the materials for that would be incredibly expensive not to mention equally difficult. Though I said I won't build an Eezo blade it still makes for an interesting idea. Forging the blade out of pure Eezo while lacing its inside with a conductive material and then attaching it to a grip with a small cell that is capable of giving of negative and positive electrical currents separately. This could potentially give a person a blade the size of small dagger but the mass and power of a great sword; likewise it could allow the creation of a great sword with the cutting power of a well forged katana and change the method of cutting from raw strength to that of extreme speed.

"I guess that will work. So will it be anything like your blade?" she inquired

"No it will not. Nothing will ever match my Nikana, Shepard. It's forging method has long since been lost and mine is one of ten currently in existence, even I don't know all the components that went into forging it" I replied.

I saw the disappointed look in Shepards eyes at the news but it couldn't be helped I really don't know how the Nikana is forged, I have attempted multiple materials and forging method but nothing works. I once had in mind building an old fashion forge and try my hand at smiting instead, figuring that maybe that would be the key.

"I will think about some extra modifications for your blade Shepard, in the mean time you can try and think of some _useful _modifications you might want" I stressed the word useful since Shepard seems like the type of person to ask for ridiculous and useless modifications.

Shepards answer as a small pout but nodded regardless.

"If that was all Shepard then I have some more things to go over before we find Dr. T'Soni" I said

Shepard nodded again and gave me a wave before leaving. When I heard the door to the Shadow close shut I gave a sigh of relief that she didn't look around on the various materials in here. I finished cataloging my materials and went back out to the main part of my ship. I walked over and opened the terminal and started sorting through my various files on all the different subjects I had discovered in my four months after leaving the Tenno, I also started writing down potential ideas for new blades. It had been about an hour and I was almost finished with a new blade design when I got interrupted by the sound of a message; I opened it and let it run.

"_Get ready for a mission Echo, we have found Dr. T'Soni down on Therum we will be arriving landing in 30 minutes when we find a decent landing spit"_ said Shepards voice

I put on the alpha frame and went to collect my weapons, I chose my Angstrum with three rockets which I already had a target for. Attached my Nikana to my hip and slung my Soma over my shoulder and then walked out of the Shadow and over to the Mako to wait. I couldn't help feeling a little exited at the prospect of finally get out and doing something again, the last few months were awfully dull. After a few minutes Garrus came over and climbed inside the Mako to make sure everything was ready for the volcanic planet of Therum. After a few more minutes I saw a fully armored Ashley step up next to the Mako she gave me a small smile and a nod in greeting, I returned the greeting with a nod of my own.

"Looks like I am finally going to see what you can do" said Ashley

"Indeed. I look forward to see your skills for myself Miss Williams, your family have military history after all" I replied

I noticed Ashley flinch a little and look away with a sad look in her eyes when I mentioned her family's military history. I never saw how it could be seen as something bad that her grandfather surrendered at Shanxi, he saved countless lives on both sides and yet his family is forever branded for it… humanity is stupid.

"How do you feel about this mission Echo?" asked Ashley

"How do you mean Miss Williams? It is a mission like any other, regular locate and extraction" I replied with a shrug

"I meant about the prospect of getting another alien aboard the ship. We already have three and that is more than enough if you ask me, this is an Alliance vessel after all" said Ashley

'_I am stopping this Xenophobic streak right now…'_ was all I could think after she was done speaking and did I have a few words to say.

"Miss Williams" I began "May I ask what species you think I am?" Human was her short reply "That is where you are wrong, I am only half human the other half of me is of a species named Tenno I am a hybrid" Ashley's eyes widened a little at the information and she looked slightly appalled to be honest "Now before you go on another xenophobic rant I have a few truths to speak. Let's start with a big misconception you have in your head right now, the misconception that what your grandfather did was wrong" Ashley snapped her head to stare at me so fast I thought her neck would break "He surrendered and it was the right choice, he saved lives on both sides and I assure you that it is only in human history that it is portrayed as a mistake. If you ask any Asari, Salarian, Turian and hell even some Krogan then you will see that they believe he did the smart thing and saved his people" I ranted

"He is right Williams" came Wrex's deep voice "If you humans see surrendering in the face of those odds as a weakness that your species is a lot dumber then I first thought. Among the Krogan General Williams is seen as a smart man who saved his people, an act that among the Krogan is worth more than most people think" he finished as he reached us.

Ashley looked torn now that she was being double teamed and even informed that among other races her grandfather's actions were actually seen as a good choice. I might have laid it on a bit thick with adding Salarian and Asari to the list but I know from my own sources and from the games that the other species saw it as the right call.

"Keep that in mind in the future Miss Williams. As for your general dislike and distrust of aliens I have a question. Before that however you should remember this vessel was built alongside the turians" I began "As for my question, you are a Christian aren't you?" I asked

Ashley gave a quiet nod and looked thoughtful

"Then I apologize if I get something wrong but I haven't held a bible for over three centuries. But didn't your god preach love and understanding? If you are his creation then wouldn't that extend out to the other species as well? If you truly believe in the message of love that god is so known for, then perhaps you can tell me how that love shouldn't reach all his creations and not just be extended to humans?" I asked with a harsh tone

Now I never was much of a religious man, in fact I was and still am a firm atheist though I am now quite open to some form of super beings since something must have placed me in a different world. I saw Ashley thinking it over deeply before she seemed to get confused.

"I… I never thought about it like that" she said

"Then perhaps now is the time to start. If you tried to spend some time with Garrus, Tali or Wrex then perhaps you would find yourself in good company. Never judge a book by its cover Miss Williams it deceives more than you think" I said.

Ashley gave me a nod before she climbed into the Mako with the same confused yet thoughtful expression on her face. I gave Wrex a thank you for the help and he simply nodded before climbing into the Mako himself, leaving me alone while I waited for Shepard to arrive with the mission details. She arrived a few minutes later with a serious expression on her face; I gave her a nod in greeting and followed her inside the Mako. I climbed up into the navigator's seat alongside Shepard in the driver's seat while Garrus sat under the turret and Wrex and Ashley took the two opposite seats.

"We are dropping in 2 minutes" said Shepard

It was two silent minutes as we waited for the drop but when the light inside the hangar finally turned green I simply steeled myself as I felt gravity take hold and the Mako dropped from the ship and we were sent hurling towards the ground.

**A/N: I know I was supposed to do Liara's recruitment mission but then all this other stuff came before it and it ended up filling WAY more than I had anticipated, if I added Liara's mission onto this I would have reached somewhere between 16-18k words on this chapter alone. I know some of you like long chapters but I have a limit to how much I will keep in one chapter. More character bonding and stuff in this part and a bit more about Marc's time with the Tenno is revealed, this will be an ongoing thing and more will be revealed in the future. **

**I realized I haven't said thank you to everyone who has Favorited and Followed or left a Review in a long time so I will do it now. You all have my most heartfelt thanks for it, it really helps me keep writing and producing a good story for you guys.**

**As per usual I don't really have any scientific or medical background so anything I write is made from guess work or made up functions when it comes to science and the like.**

**As a little extra bit. Generatedname has begun a story called "Secrets of the Void" which is based on the same idea as my story, namely a guy going the Warframe Universe and then into Mass Effect. You should go read it, it only has two chapters but it's shaping up to be a fantastic story and I will wager when both his and my story stands done, his will be better. Read it at s/10486038/1/Secrets-of-the-Void or find it under my favorite stories.**

**Till next time.**

**-Bundlejumper**


	8. Chapter 8

A Mako drop is surprisingly silent, you don't hear the sound of wind whistling past you and you feel almost weightless inside the vehicle. I gave a glance in Shepard's direction since we were closing in on the ground and she wasn't showing any sign of reaching for the stabilizers to slow us down… a loud sigh escapes me as I turn my head and look into the passenger compartment.

"Hold on" I say

Garrus looks at me a little confused I just nod my head in Shepard's direction and that seems enough for Garrus because he sat down in the seat and strapped in, Ashley and Wrex did the same since I suspect they didn't miss the gesture. When I moved my head back to look down at the navigation screen I could almost feel Shepard scowling

"You are no fun…" said Shepard

I just grinned below my helmet

"Let's just say that your driving skills are… infamous" I mocked

I heard Shepard give a low chuckle, I didn't need to look to see her shrug it was just one of those things she would do. When we were a good ten meters above the ground Shepard finally engaged the stabilizers and the entire Mako jerked as it slowed down in mid-air. A low bump announced our landing and once I had checked the direction and condition of the Mako I gave a nod to Shepard who wasted no time in hitting the gas.

It surprised me when we had been driving for roughly a minute and it had been one of the smoother rides I have ever had. I glanced over at Shepard who had this little smug look on her face and sure enough she turned and stared at me and I could easily see the statement in her eyes "Infamous driving huh?" I chose to ignore it and simply shook my head at her. It didn't take much longer before the first few geth appeared on the radar.

"Garrus your up!" I shouted back to Garrus

"On it" he replied

I turned towards Shepard "Now might be a good idea to use those infamous skills" I said

The grin on Shepard almost turned feral as she glanced out towards the first few visible geth, I let out another sigh and turned around and stared up at Garrus in the cannon.

"Sorry to say this Garrus, but it seems the good Commander intends to use the Mako as a makeshift ram" I said with a tired voice

I just heard Garrus give a small whimper as he seemed to now be very determined to blast every geth out the way before Shepard could scratch the paint on the Mako. Of course when I had turned my head back to look out the front once again, Shepard was scowling at me for ruining her fun. Once we started hitting armatures I noticed that Shepard stopped trying to have fun and became extremely serious as she avoided shots and did her utmost to ensure Garrus always had a clean shot without having to move the cannon too much. When the gates of the outpost came into view I scanned the map for the side route that was used in the game, I did find it but the entrance was covered with rocks so I knew we would be flying in a few seconds.

"Shepard there is a path to the right" I gestured with my hand "The entrance is covered by rocks so we need to use the thrusters to get above them. There isn't much space in the path so don't put too much power into the jump or we will overshoot" I ordered

Shepard just nodded and started making way towards the path. When we were a few meters from it I felt the entire Mako lift as the thrusters lifted us up and over the rocks, I also didn't miss the way our back wheels just grazed the rocks as we landed again. We didn't exactly get time to get our bearings as the cannon inside the little side path had begun shooting the moment we landed and a few shots had already struck the side of the Mako. Luckily Garrus managed to hit the damn thing in quick succession with a pair of cannon blasts blowing it apart

We rolled into the small outpost and were instantly set upon by the geth; Shepard didn't even bother to move the Mako and simply let Garrus use the cannon to deal with them all. When a few of the geth got too close to the Mako for Garrus to hit them we finally opened the hatch and let Wrex barrel out which caused two Geth to be knocked over and the rest began shooting at him. I jumped out after Ashley and surveyed the outpost while the others dealt with the geth in plain sight; I knew there was a squadron of geth inside each gate house and that both needed to be dealt with so we could move on.

A small impact caused me to spin around when a bullet struck my shielded shoulder, it was a Geth who had gotten a lucky shot in while I was busy looking around. I ignored its continued fire and simply stepped up to it and sliced it clean across the middle with my Nikana. I will admit it is a bit unnerving to not be able to feel the presence of my opponents anymore, but I comfort myself with the knowledge it is only against Geth for now.

"We need to lower those gates before we can continue" I heard Ashley say

I walked around the Mako where the other four were standing as I turned the last corner I heard Shepard speak "There are two gatehouse here, the one over there "Shepard pointed to the one closest to us "Probably leads out to the front turrets we avoided by going through the passage, so that means the other one over there" she then pointed across the outpost "Will let us continue on, I guess we know where we are going" she finished with a smile

As the team started going towards the gate house I turned around and headed off towards the other, this caught Shepard's attention pretty quickly since she yelled after me

"Echo that is the wrong one!" she yelled

I turned around "I know, but there is most likely geth in both so I would rather ensure we don't get a few geth coming up behind us" I replied

Shepard just gave a nod before she turned and headed off with the rest of the team. I turned around myself and took two steps before I loosened my body _'Engage Warframe: Excalibur'_ ordered in my mind. The Alpha-Frame began shifting and turning as it rearranged itself to accommodate the needs of the Excalibur frame, a rather nasty pain then shot out from seven points in my spine as I felt the stabilizers plant themselves to ensure the Alpha-Frame didn't hurt any vital areas. It hurts like hell but the nanites fixes it almost instantly so it's of no major concern to me.

When the frame settled down I took the short walk up to the gate house and upon opening the door came under immediate fire. I ducked outside and simply waited a few seconds for the sound of geth rifles to go away, when they finally did I pulled out my Soma and circled inside the gatehouse and took aim down the short room and fired upon the geth I got in my sights. With a Soma holding a hundred shots per clip I managed to take down the first geth with twenty shots, the second one took thirty due to its constant moving in and out of cover. For the final geth I sacrificed a few ribs as I pulled out my Nikana and allowed the geth to riddle me with shots until I came within range. The alpha-frame quickly repaired itself and the nanites then got to work on my ribs. While this was happening I looked outside at the three turrets that were still scanning for oncoming threats. When I felt the nanites had done enough for me to move without causing too much damage I made my way back out and joined the others.

"Everything went okay?" asked Shepard

"Minor damage, I will be fine a few hours" I replied

Shepard simply nodded and gestured down to the now open gate, I gave a nod in return and we all climbed back into the Mako. When I had sat down in the navigator seat once more and Shepard had gotten us moving towards the dig site I realized just how… little… there is actually done aside from the gunner and driver, I mean sure I tell Shepard what is coming up and so forth but she does all the driving and Garrus does all the shooting. Looking back I even noticed Ashley and Wrex talking together in an extremely bored fashion, my view of that conversation was however cut off when a wall moved in and sealed the front compartment of the Mako

I turned my head towards Shepard with a questioning glance "Care to explain?" I asked

Shepard gave shrug "I'll explain when you do. I saw the way you were walking… minor damage huh?"

I just sat back in the chair with a matching shrug "So I broke two ribs and a third is chipped, happens all the time for me. I wasn't lying when I said I would be fine in a few hours" I said

"Be that as it may, next time you will tell me exactly what is wrong so I can correctly assess how it will impact the mission, am I clear?" she asked with stern tone

"Yes Ma'am" I replied though it sounded a little forced

"Good. Now what is your assessment of this mission so far?" she asked

"So far everything seems to be going more or less as expected, minor Geth resistance and so far nothing to indicate whatever those Geth are here to protect or collect Miss T'Soni" I replied

"I agree. Any thoughts on what we could potentially be facing?" she continued

"Besides more Geth? Nothing else really, the best would can do is just keep going and hope we don't get thrown a curve ball" I replied

"Maybe… something about this mission just seems off to me, I don't know why" she said

"Hmm… I will admit it seems a bit strange for someone to have come this far out just to do a dig and then not have any security. Also have you noticed the distinct lag of bodies wherever we go?" I asked

Shepard gave a nod as she engaged the thrusters so we could jump over a small gap in the road "Yeah I have, part of why I think something fishy is going on. You think the bodies have been moved?" she replied

"Could be, but I don't see a reason for the Geth to suddenly find an interest in corpses. Maybe Saren has a use for them but I highly doubt it" I said

Shepard just shook her head at the whole idea. Soon enough we came up on the last stretch of land before the road visibly narrowed into the small little gap that seems just big enough for the Mako, but really isn't. In true fashion with most first time players Shepard decides to at least do _one_ attempt at making the Mako squeeze through the small opening. She did however after on try and a pleading word from Garrus, give up, after which we all climbed out of the Mako and started our way up towards the dig site. Halfway up the small hill I went over and tapped Garrus shoulder

"Hey Garrus, do you still have that special light dampening scope?" I asked

"Yeah I still use it, why? You planning to use that giant ass light again?" he asked in turn

"Potentially, if I yell 'down' I suggest you close one eye and put the other down the scope because when you are as close as we are going to be it is going to be _very_ bright" I replied

He nodded and started messing with his scope, I smiled and nodded in turn and walked back up next to Shepard.

"What was that about?" Shepard asked

"Just needed to ask Garrus something. Oh and if I yell to get down I suggest you close your eyes because it is about get very bright when I yell that" I said

Shepard just looked at me weirdly and I could almost see that she was cursing herself for not bringing her helmet with her. When we finally came up to the dig site I quickly heard the first shot going off so I was already running to cover a few seconds before everyone else. As soon as I was behind decent cover I pressed a button on my arm and waited as the sound pulse shot out and returned moments later.

"Eva, enemy count?" I asked Eva

"_Seven Geth registered with echo location. More might be hiding"_ was the reply

"Seven geth Shepard!" I yelled

"I know, two on the platform, three down here with us and two more up on the walkway!" she yelled back

I heard a loud bang that could only belong to a sniper and sure enough Garrus had just popped the head off one of the geth on the platform leading into the dig site. I popped back out a second later and fired at the second one, nailing it in the chest with three bullets after its shields went down. A load roar sounded through the air and I looked out and saw Wrex charging the three geth on the ground with a shotgun out and firing. I must admit watching a Krogan Battlemaster charge into combat with guns blazing is a sight to see, especially when said Krogan is also a biotic and enjoys using said biotics to enhance his punches so he latterly punch through the Geth.

I did manage to hear Ashley jokingly mutter something about crazy Krogan, I just chuckled at the sight before a few bullets struck my shield and brought me back on track. Another loud crack followed by a rather colourful word I didn't know, but I assumed it was a swearword because Garrus missed when the Geth he had aimed at decided to switch targets and turn around at the last second. My attention however was quickly on the two geth on the suspended walkway.

"Eva, how far up is that walkway?" I asked

"_5.73 meters in the air" _was her reply

"Charge up the Super Jump" I ordered

After a few seconds I heard the small ping inside my helmet that announced the ability was fully charged and grinned as I put away my Soma and withdrew my Nikana and went into a run towards the walkway. When I was a few meters away I released the jump and shot into the air and spun around causing me to go into a reverse somersault, when I was level with the Geth I swung my blade across and felt it connect and go straight through the first Geth. As I started going down on the other side of the walkway I had intended to grab the railing and climb up to finish the last Geth but it proved unnecessary as the head of the Geth exploded in a shower of sparks and whatever they use for oil in the bodies. I removed my hand so I wouldn't catch the railing and landed almost silently as my dampeners took care of the impact, I turned to look at who had taken the other Geth and found a smirking Shepard standing there with her own Sniper the she held across her shoulder.

"Didn't know you were a gymnast" came the snappy comment

"Didn't know you could aim" was my casual reply

Shepard snorted and Wrex let out a small laugh, while Garrus seemed a little miffed that someone had taken a kill from him… Ashley was shaking her head at us all. I was about to speak when my ears caught a low whistling sound coming from above, I didn't need to know what was coming

"Get to cover, Armature!" I yelled and sprinted for the nearest bit of cover

No one doubted my words as the whistling grew louder until the giant piece of machinery impacted with the ground sending out a shockwave that would have knocked us over had we not been in cover… well perhaps not Wrex. Four geth landed seconds later and unfolded so they could protect the Armature while it too got ready. The fight shouldn't have lasted as long as it did since we gave the armature time to unfold and begin charging its first shot at us. I ended up grinning below my helmet, I would have liked to avoid using any Angstrum ammo but here was a chance to unleash hell on something large enough to merit a full charge. I began charging the Blind so I knew it would get Armature long enough for what I had planned. I stared at Shepard and when she caught me looking in her direction she nodded and prepared herself, I tapped Garrus on the shoulder since he was right next to me and he knew what I was about to do.

When the small ping sounded once more I ran forward until I was about halfway from the Armature and raised my hand to the sky and released the Blind. The entire area was covered in a great white flash but it didn't bother me as my mask filtered everything into a sort of black/white world which allowed me to move up towards the armature and through its legs. On my way there I did manage to catch one Geth's head explode from Garrus sniper shot and an explosion to my left alerted me to someone using a grenade to ridding themselves of one or perhaps two more geth. I had started charging a small Super Jump as soon as I had released the Blind, it took a lot out of my energy but I knew this was the last big thing to fight besides the bloody Krogan merc that Wrex is probably going to squash anyway.

Once I was behind the Armature I released the small Super Jump and managed to land on the flat back of the large machine. I drew the Angstrum and began charging it while I moved into position behind the Armature's neck. A large light emanating from the head of the Armature alerted me to the impending shot that was locked onto the team, luckily for all of us my Angstrum finished its charge a few seconds before. I pointed the Angstrum directly at the Armatures neck and released the trigger, I then turned my back as quick as I could to absorb as much of the blast as possible. One large bang later and I was flying through the air towards some rocks, I landed pretty roughly but I could stand up and turn to see if my plan had been a success. The blown of head of the Armature certainly seems to indicate it was a success, as was the slowly falling body of said Armature.

When I finally managed to stumble over to the others I had a lot of concerned and confused faces looking in my direction, well except for Wrex he was grinning like mad and giving me a stare that promised lots of drinking and more story telling… good, I like that.

"Are you okay? And no lying this time" spoke Shepard

"My entire body hurts but nothing beyond ribs are broken, add an extra hour to my recovery and it should all work out" I said

Shepard nodded in acceptance and Garrus was just staring at me like I was insane. Everyone soon got a move on as we headed towards the entrance to the dig site. Standing in front of that tunnel that let down into the excavation I just felt annoyed over the fact that we have to run up this on our way out and perhaps even have to carry Liara if she is too tired. Our descend was marred by silence as everyone had a weapon at the ready, well everyone except me since I didn't want to waste more Soma ammo and my Angstrum is empty and the Nikana is only good if the Drones come close enough. And sure enough we had barely stepped out into the site itself before…

"Drones!" shouted Ashley

Everyone except myself went for cover and began shooting at the two drones, the damn things didn't last ten seconds under the combined fire of four people hence why I hadn't moved an inch when we saw them.

"You don't seem to care about your life that much" commented Ashley

"It was two Drones Miss Williams, I knew you four were right here and it would have taken both of those drones more than ten seconds to take down my shields, so better I work as a bullet magnet while you four take them down" I replied

Wrex gave a snort but seemed to approve none the less, much the same with Garrus and Shepard was just giving me a look of questioning before shaking her head and then she began moving again. We had barely left the second elevator when two more Drones came flying, this time I did draw my Nikana and used it to parry a few bullets. I know the parry animation in the Warframe game looks completely insane, but trust me on this it is highly possible to do what they are doing just not with twenty Grineer firing upon you like in the game, but with only two or three it is highly possible this little trick saved my ass a lot. Once the Drones were down we took the last elevator down and as predicted the damn thing broke and we jumped down the last bit coming out right next to Liara's prison.

I heard Liara's timid voice calling out "Ehm… Hello? Is anyone there?"

We all moved to stand in front of the barrier that separated us from the captured Liara. I glanced over the barrier quickly before placing my hand on it and letting Eva scan it.

"How did you end up in there?" I heard Shepard ask

"Well… when the geth attacked I kind of panicked and ran in here, this is a Prothean barrier curtain one of their security devices, I must have hit the wrong button because suddenly I found myself captured and suspended in the air, the Geth have been trying to get through for a while now" replied Liara

"Okay, any idea on how to get you free?" asked Shepard

"There is a terminal in here that should release me" replied Liara

A small ping inside my helmet announced the scan was finished and I had the data run across my HUD. Nothing worthy of note, Prothean tech that Eva doesn't recognize, the barrier will break under sufficient fire but I have nowhere near enough with me to do that. I went over to the back of the walkway and quickly found the mining laser. I walked over and tapped Shepard on the back

"Hey Shepard I think I found a way through" I said

Shepard turned and looked at me as I gestured to the mining laser below, she gave a small nod.

"Go check if it still works" she said

I nodded and made my way down the rocks to the laser, I knew it was going to be functioning and if it really was broken I could probably fix it. When I reached the machine it booted right up and when the screen lit up I actually ended up snorting and leaning against the machine simply due to the stupidity of it all, the screen read;

_Calibration Needed…_

It just repeated that sentence over and over again… I swear something out there is taunting me with this.

"Shepard it works, I need Garrus down here though" I yelled up

I didn't get a response but heard the sound of footsteps coming down the rocks and soon enough Garrus stepped up to my side, I simply gestured to the screen and saw his face light up with glee as he began working in the machine. I then noticed that it was only Wrex and Shepard down here with Garrus

"Where is Miss Williams?" I asked

"I asked her to keep Liara company while we worked our way through" she replied

Ashley keeping Liara company? Good, it might speed up the process a little; I mean she seemed to be talking fine with Wrex in the Mako so that was a start. A rather loud humming noise let us know that the laser drill was charging up which also caused me to cast a glance towards Garrus who was still messing with the controls _'He is beyond help'_ was the only thing that passed through my mind. When the laser was done charging up I actually felt the entire dig site shake as the laser was going through the lower barrier.

"You think anyone is going to be pissed that we are drilling holes in an ancient ruin?" asked Shepard

'_There isn't going to be a ruin when we leave…'_ I thought but kept it to myself.

"They can complain as much as they want" I heard Wrex answer

When Shepard looked at me for my answer I just shrugged and looked back to the mining laser as it finished up and there was now a clear hole leading into the lower cell and lo and behold the elevator is already at the bottom level, what luck…

"Echo go grab Ashley" ordered Shepard

I just gave a nod and started climbing back up to where I could see Ashley stand facing Liara, it seemed like the two were having a conversation. As I came closer I just managed to hear the last bit of something Liara said

"…what purpose does it serve for you to be throwing small pointy object at a multiple colour board?" asked Liara

I just managed to see Ashley sigh and rub her eyes, when she was about to speak again she noticed Liara looking at me so she turned towards me.

"We are through Miss Williams" I said

"Yeah okay" she then turned towards Liara "We will be there in a moment" she said to Liara

I turned and began climbing back down and waited for Ashley at the bottom when she came down we joined the team and walked into the cell and onto the elevator. Shepard quickly got it moving and soon enough we were all looking at the backside of Liara.

"How… How did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier" said Liara

"It's not important we have to get you out of here before more geth arrive" replied Ashley

"Yes of course, I have seen enough of them to last a life time. The button over there should release my containment field" said Liara

Shepard stepped over to the terminal that would allow us to release her, but before she managed to press the button Wrex spoke up

"Hold on a moment Shepard. You sure she is on our side? Her mother is working with Saren" he said

"I am not my mother! I don't even know why she joined Saren. I don't want anything to do with that Turian bastard!" she half yelled

"I like her already" I heard Garrus mutter from behind us

"And if she was with Saren I doubt the geth would be trying to kill her" I put in

Shepard gave a nod before she released the containment field, causing Liara to land with a small grunt. Once she had dusted herself off and turned to face us, Garrus spoke up

"You wouldn't happen to know a quick way out of here? Our way in is kind of broken" he said

"There is an elevator back in the centre of the tower. At least I think it is an elevator. It should take us out of here" said Liara

We all gave a nod and stepped into the centre platform and Liara turned and looked at us all with a confused face

"I still don't understand this. Why would the Geth come after me? Do you think my mother is involved?" she asked us all

"Saren is looking for something called the conduit, you're a Prothean expert. Obviously he wants you to help him find it" replied Garrus with a shrug

"The Conduit? But I don't know…" Liara began but was cut off when a loud rumbling sound echoed throughout the entire ruin.

"What the hell was that?" asked Wrex

"These ruins are not stable, the mining laser you used must have triggered a seismic event" replied Liara as she stepped up to the panel and pressed a few buttons to send the elevator moving "The entire place is going to cave in, we need to leave" she said

I saw Shepard's face turn dead serious as she opened a com channel "Joker get the Normandy into the air and lock onto my signal!" she almost yelled into the com

"_Aye, Aye Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA eight minutes"_ was jokers reply

The elevator began moving almost directly after Joker had confirmed his orders. I already knew what was coming up there so I turned off the outgoing sound from my helmet before speaking

"Eva, if everything matches up then we will be facing five adversaries once we reach the top level, do I have enough Energy left for a Radial Javelin of that size?" I inquired

"_You only have energy left for a four pronged Radial Javelin, Marc. Anything more will empty the energy compartments completely leaving you with neither shield nor movement assistance. I suggest using the four pronged Javelin and then redirecting all remaining Energy to your shields"_ was Eva's reply

"Understood, begin charging it up and prepare for targeting" I ordered

"_Understood"_ was the reply

I enabled the outgoing sound and listened to Garrus and Wrex making small talk about the mission in general, Shepard was looking at something on her omni-tool but her hands were twitching in her weapons direction all the time. Ashley however surprised me by actually seeming be continuing her conversation from earlier, attempting to inform Liara about throwing pointy objects at a multiple colour board?

When the elevator stopped I looked around the large circular room and quickly identified every piece of cover we had available to us. Then we all noticed the Krogan walking into the room with his four Geth and I began marking the four Geth as targets, sure enough they were all soon marked by a red crosshair on my HUD telling me that they were the primary targets for my next Radial Javelin.

"Thank you for getting through the barrier for us, now kindly hand over the good doctor" growled the Krogan

I didn't bother waiting for anyone else to reply and levelled my arm across my chest and gave the mental command _'Radial Javelin: Fire'_ a small plate moved from my arm to reveal a small array of ten holes in a line, four miniature darts made of compressed energy shot out and sought their targets. One javelin managed to land in the thigh of one Geth making it buckle and making it kneel, two Javelins planted themselves in the arms of two other Geth seemingly doing nothing, while the last Javelin hit home and drove itself into the flashlight head of the final Geth causing the thing to topple over. Then all hell broke loose.

I ran for one of the pillar's to our sides and readied my Soma, when I looked over at Garrus I barely managed to catch him ducking behind cover with a bit of smoke rising from his shoulder where a shot had grazed him. Shepard was standing behind another pillar and was actually shooting from behind cover without looking, how the hell she managed to hit something I will never know. Ashley was popping in and out of cover for a few well-placed shots and Liara was staying in the background as to not get in the way. Now Wrex had simply thrown up a biotic barrier and gone into full berserk mode as he rushed the other Krogan and knocked him on his ass, the two were currently engaged in a rather fascinating fist fight that I would happily have followed to the end had it not been for the shots constantly hitting the pillar I was behind.

I finally popped out myself and released the remainder of my magazine into the geth that was firing from its kneeling position effectively removing its shields and doing a decent amount of damage, at least until Garrus planted a sniper shot right into the flashlight in its head sending it crumbling to the ground. With the loss of one more platform the two remaining Geth slowed for a fraction of a second which allowed Ashley to take down one while Shepard had snuck around the edge of the room and was now charging the remaining Geth with a shotgun. When she was close enough I saw her go into a slide and level the Shotgun perfectly with the chest of the Geth and soon enough a loud boom sounded as the Geth got a hole blasted through its chest from point blank range. We all came out of cover and looked over at Wrex who was still fighting with the other Krogan, when I noticed some of the others levelling guns in that direction I had to speak up

"Stop! Don't interfere with that fight, Wrex can handle it!" I yelled

Everyone stopped and Shepard shot me a look that almost screamed "are you stupid?" but I just glared from under my helmet which luckily seemed to get the point across. I looked back up just in time to see Wrex pick up the other Krogan and throw him against the wall stunning him for long enough so Wrex could bioticly charge his fist and send it flying forward. I will admit that the sound a Krogan makes when his face is removed by a bioticly powered punch is quite sickening and not something I am keen to hear again in the future.

"Hahaha! Now that is how a battle is done! Fists against fists! Krogan against Krogan!" roared Wrex

Oddly enough he had chosen to stare at me while yelling all of this, so I half expected him to issue a challenge right there for us to go at it. Honestly the prospect intrigues me as I would like to learn how Krogan actually fight in close combat given their extreme body frames, not counting the slaughter I just witnessed.

"Yes, yes very interesting. Now could we get moving before we get buried alive?!" yelled Garrus

Everyone quickly began running towards the tunnel leading out of the ruin as the entire place began rumbling and stones soon began falling from the roof of the cave. I ensured everyone was inside the tunnel before I started making my own way up. We had made it about halfway when Liara suddenly fell with a pained yell, I could already see from here that her ankle was either broken or strained, neither was any good right now. Imagine my surprise when Ashley showed just how much she had thought about our conversation when she, without stopping to think about it, lifted up Liara and helped her into position on her back before she carried her the rest of the way out of the tunnel.

**Third person point of view**

The entire ground team came barrelling out of the tunnel where the Normandy was at the ready for pickup. Shepard, Garrus and Wrex quickly made their way aboard but as Ashley with Liara on her back and Echo came out of the tunnel the walkway that the Normandy was hovering in front of collapsed. Seeing this Echo knew that he could make the jump but he wasn't sure about Ashley, not with Liara on her back anyway.

"Ashley, give me Miss T'Soni" ordered Echo

Ashley could hear the seriousness in his tone and didn't argue so she quickly handed over Liara before she nodded to them both and sprinted towards the other end of the broken walkway, when she was just at the edge she jumped and both Wrex and Garrus was standing there ready to catch her hands as she just barely managed to reach the hangar bay door.

"Echo, hurry!" yelled Shepard

Echo began running while giving one order "Eva relay every last scrap of energy into a jump!" yelled Echo while he continued to run, Eva didn't disobey and the budding AI realized the situation called for it so when Echo reached the end of the broken walkway he released the Super Jump and added his own leg strength and propelled forward towards the ramp of the hangar, with the extra weight Echo only barely managed to hit the ramp and get caught by Garrus and Wrex and hauled inside.

"Joker Go, Go, Go!" yelled Shepard to her com

The Normandy sped away from the collapsing ruin that was now flowing with Lava and molten sulphur. Echo wasted no time in speeding towards the med-bay; in truth they all needed to get a one over but Liara was the one in most need since they didn't know how long she had been captured. Garrus, Ashley and Wrex stayed in the hangar to put away their weapons and get out of their armour, Shepard however followed Echo into the elevator and rode it up with him. Liara did look a little uncomfortable in his arms despite being carried bridal style.

"Ehm… could you perhaps put me down now?" asked Liara

"I will put you down as soon as we are inside the med-bay Miss T'Soni no need to strain your ankle further" replied Echo

Liara just sighed which caused Shepard to smirk as the elevator arrived at the crew deck. Once they stepped out into the mess hall there were a lot of stares aimed in their direction or more specifically at the Asari that Echo was currently holding. Both Echo and Shepard ignored the looks and headed directly for the med-bay where Chakwas was standing ready, suspecting that someone had gotten wounded on the planet. Echo moved over and placed Liara on one of the beds before turning to Chakwas

"Her ankle is either sprained or broken. Everyone else made it out without any major damage, I was probably the one to get the worst of it with a few broken ribs but I will be fine in a few hours" said Echo

Chakwas just nodded at his explanation and went over to look over Liara and tend to her ankle. Echo decided to go down and put away his Warframe, he gave a court nod to Shepard on the way out who returned it and also giving him a message to take down into the hangar

"Tell the rest of the ground team down there to meet for De-briefing in 30" said Shepard

Echo nodded and made his way down to his ship to remove his frame and get a better look at just how much damage was actually done to his body, at least on the outside. Stepping out of the elevator Echo noticed Ashley sitting by one of the tables trying to disassemble her assault rifle with shaky hands, with a shake of his head Echo stepped over and planted a hand on her shoulder

"Miss Williams may I suggest you attempt cleaning your weapon when you aren't shaking from the adrenalin leaving your body?" inquired Echo

Ashley just turned her head and stared at Echo for a few seconds before nodding "Yeah I guess you are right" she replied

"Also Shepard asked us to be up for De-brief in 30" said Echo as he walked over towards Wrex

Ashley just nodded and began putting her weapon away again. Echo passed by Wrex and gave the message to which he only grunted but nodded anyway. Garrus got the same as Echo passed him and from there Echo finally ducked into his ship. Once inside Echo dropped the armour and placed it inside its charging station so it would be ready at the next mission. He then dropped into some comfortable clothes and headed out again towards the de-briefing room.

* * *

Echo had been sitting in blissful silence since he arrived at the briefing room but that came to a halt when Shepard stepped down into the room with him.

"You are awfully early" commented Shepard

"I am simply enjoying the silence" replied Echo

"Yeah silence, if only I could get some of that every once in a while" continued Shepard

"Lock down your quarters and ask your XO to hold the deck for an hour?" suggested Echo with a shrug

"That could work. So what is your opinion on the mission?" asked Shepard

"It could have gone worse. We rescued Miss T'Soni and only lost a Mako and a Prothean ruin in return. Were you thinking more along the lines of team performance?" asked Echo In return

"Hah… The Council will be hounding my ass over that ruin I just know it, as for the Mako we will just requisition a new one. Also I didn't mean team performance but let me hear your thoughts anyway" said Shepard

"Let's begin with Wrex; the old Battlemaster did as was expected of a Krogan of his age and skill, he took everything head on and came out on top without a scratch. Garrus; He held his cool under most of the mission and only took decisive shots that he knew would kill his target, ensuring no downtime for him. Ashley; Miss Williams surprised me greatly today, both by her tremendous skill but also by her willingness to work alongside aliens and trust them to have her back, she has shown Xenophobic tendencies in the past, also her helping of Miss T'Soni surprised me as well. I prefer not to speak of my own performance on the mission and I don't comment on my superior's performance" said Echo

Shepard had been nodding during his little speech and agreed with everything he said; overall she was very happy with her team's performance.

"Yes well you might not be willing to comment on your performance but I am. That damn Warframe or whatever you call it is damn useful and proved to be an invaluable asset to the team, your own skills are way above that of any soldier I have ever met so I have no doubt in the legitimacy of your statement that you are of the highest rank in your Order. You however have a tendency to downplay your own wounds and that can prove fatal, if not to you then to one of the team that is counting on you having their back but you are unable to because of an injury. Beyond that you show amazing decision making skills and tactical thought, two traits I am only happy to have on my crew" stated Shepard

Echo's reply was cut off when the rest of the ground team began filing into the briefing room with a slightly limping Liara behind them assisted by Ashley whom she was leaning on for support. Once everyone was seated Shepard would have begun speaking had it not been for joker needing to remind everyone of his name

"_Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulphur; the Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanos. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference"_

Echo gave a small chuckle at Joker's antics as did most of the crew that had met their crippled pilot.

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" asked Liara a little confused

"Joker pulled our asses out of there. I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes" replied Shepard

"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander. But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there. And not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me, or dragged me off to Saren" commented Liara

"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" asked Kaidan

"Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them" answered Liara

"How old are you, exactly?" asked Ashley with a hint of curiosity in her voice

"I hate to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six" replied Liara a little sheepishly

Echo was just starting at Liara like she truly was as young as she made it seem, to him she was still a youngster like himself and had a long way to go to prove herself, but he also knew that events to come would turn her into a little bit of a harder person which is only good.

"Damn I hope I look that good when I'm your age" said Ashley in surprise

"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours. But among asari, I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans" commented Liara

"I have got my own theory on why the Protheans disappeared" said Shepard

"With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory out there the problem is finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This circle began long before them" replied Liara

"If the Protheans weren't the first, then who was" asked Ashley

"I don't know. There is barely any evidence on the Protheans, even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory. But I know I am Right! The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down, and only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before them. Their greatest achievements, the mass relays and the Citadel, are based on the technology of those who came before them and then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why" answered Liara

"They were wiped out by an ancient race of sentient machines, the Reapers" Shepard put in

"The, the Reapers? But I have never heard of… How do you know this? What evidence do you have" blabbered Liara

"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain, I'm still trying to sort out what it all means" said Shepard

"Visions? Yes… that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a working beacon, even a badly damaged one, is worth almost any risk. But the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology, whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong willed, Commander" said Liara

"Okay, this is interesting and all but it isn't helping us find Saren. Or the conduit" said Ashley in an apologizing tone

Echo just nodded his consent, he was also surprised that Ashley didn't seem angry like she usually does in the games but he just chalked it up to the conversation and subsequent events following it.

"Of course, you are right I am sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit, or Saren" said Liara in apology

"I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture, but I think we'll be a lot better off if we bring you along" commented Shepard

"Thank you Commander, Saren might come after me again, I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship, and my knowledge of the Protheans might be useful later on" thanked Liara

"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts" rumbled Wrex

"Welcome on the team Liara" said Shepard with a smile

"Thank you Commander, I am very gratef… whoa I am afraid I am feeling a bit light headed" mumbled Liara

"When was the last time you ate? Or slept?" asked Kaidan

"It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the Protheans' true fate. I need some time to process all of this. Still it could not hurt to eat something and then rest for a few hours. It will give me the chance to think things over, are we finished here Commander?" asked Liara

"We can talk again after you have eaten something and gotten some rest. The rest of you… dismissed" ordered Shepard

Everyone began filing out of the briefing room but Shepard stayed behind to give her report to the council. Echo knew how that conversation was going to go so he decided to leave along with the rest of the crew; he really wasn't in the mood to answer some of the council's questions. Ashley was helping Liara to the med-bay and Kaidan was going off to who knows where and ensure his arms wasn't damaged. Wrex and Garrus were accompanying Echo back down to the hangar.

"So I guess we are heading back to the Citadel now?" asked Garrus

"That would be my guess. We need a new Mako and Shepard needs to report what you guys found on Edolus" answered Echo

Everyone stepped out of the elevator and went their separate ways. Echo decided he would go back to sleep, damn the consequences if he woke too early.

* * *

When Echo finally stirred from his sleep he was happy to not be feeling a headache and he was somewhat rested. When he stepped out of the ship it was quite clear that they were currently in the night cycle so Echo decided now was a good time to grab a bite to eat. The mess hall was as quiet as one would assume at this time of night, there was of course light inside the med-bay but even Chakwas seemed to be getting a few hours of sleep at the moment. A few footsteps alerted Echo to someone's approach and when he turned to look he saw Ashley come walking into the mess with a tired look on her face. When Ashley saw Echo she didn't react immediately, she was too focused on getting some coffee before anything else. When she finally had a cup in her hands she stepped over and sat down across from him.

"Miss Williams. Trouble sleeping?" asked Echo

Ashley just looked up at him with squinted eyes "Call me Ashley for god's sake. Miss Williams make me feel old"

"Ashley then. Trouble sleeping I ask again?" continued Echo

"Not really, my shift is coming up and I couldn't sleep any longer. What about you?" she asked in reply

"Irregular sleep cycle, I am awake at strange times. Why do you have a shift directly after a mission? I would think you would be given the day to rest or something of equal measure" replied Echo

"Sadly not, since you busted Kaidan's arm we have one man less to stand on rotation so I took his shift" said Ashley

"I see. My apologies for inadvertently causing you to have an extra shift" replied Echo with a nod

"It's okay I can handle it" Ashley then turned her head and looked towards the med-bay "What do you think of our newest member?" she asked

"If you are referring to Miss T'Soni then I suspect she will be an asset once her ankle is healed. Asari Biotics are useful and unlike the rest of the Biotics on our team she seems dedicated only to her Biotics and nothing else, meaning she can potentially become a pure biotic fighter, a useful individual to have on the battlefield" replied Echo

Ashley gave a nod "I have fought with some of those, mad bastards caused everyone to fly around everywhere making them easy targets"

Echo just nodded in consent "Also Ashley I must say I am surprised that your took our conversation to heart so quickly, I mean it has barely been a day"

Ashley just got a small smile on her face "Yeah… when I talked to Wrex in the Mako I realized that he was just another soldier like me, didn't matter that he was Krogan at that moment we were just two soldiers looking out for each other's back. When I then spoke with Liara I realized that she knows nothing about humanity and was extremely curious and that is when it sort of hit me…" Echo raised his eyebrow and gestured for her to continue "Well… to them, we are the aliens. It was sort of an eye opener to realize that to any other species we might be the odd ones or even the disgusting race. So I figured I might as well do what you said and try talking to them before judging" she finished

Echo gave a low chuckle as he glanced at the tired Ashley; she really had come far in a short time span. Echo finished his own meal and gave a court nod and goodbye to Ashley before moving back down to his ship. Once Echo was back down at the Shadow he went in and pulled out his Nikana and once more cleared the boxes behind the Shadow to make his little arena, he then began working through his regular program while he waited for the rest of the crew to rise.

As the day cycle came around most the crew began to stir and make their way towards breakfast. Echo however hadn't really kept an eye on the time so when the first person entered the Armory thus turning on the lights Echo realized that he had been training for a little too long, something that was emphasized by the rather abhorrent smell of his sweat covered body. So Echo quickly went inside his ship and stepped into the shower on his ship and rinsed off. When he was finished he quickly put on some clothes and began making his way up towards the mess hall, intending on grabbing a small bite to eat. When the elevator opened Echo was however faced with Shepard who seemed surprised to see him and gestured for him to enter the elevator.

"I was just coming down to see you" said Shepard

"What for?" asked Echo

"We will be arriving at the Citadel today and then I will be giving the crew the day off. I will go see an Admiral Kohaku about his marines on Edolus and get some other business done, I figured you would like to know and I would also like to know what you will be doing in that time" she replied

"I will probably be walking around the Citadel for a while, I have some people to see and some business of my own to conduct. After that you can probably find me walking around the Presidium" said Echo

Shepard nodded and both of them stepped out into the mess hall, Shepard headed off towards her office and Echo made his way over to grab a bite to eat. Once he had acquired some suitable breakfast Echo sat down across from Garrus and Tali at one of the tables and gave a small nod to both that was returned before he began eating. After a good ten minutes they were joined by a healthier looking Liara

"Good morning Miss T'Soni, I trust you are feeling better?" asked Echo

"Good morning and yes I feel much better thank you" she replied

Everyone then returned to their breakfast and allowed time to pass. Soon enough everyone split to get on with their day, though Garrus and Echo stuck around each other for most of the time and talked about a variety of stuff ranging from Guns to history and even on occasion the odd movie, Garrus was very insistent that Echo get to watch some Turian Epic at some point. Ashley spend most of the morning and mid-day on cleaning her weapons, Wrex was just standing by his boxes while constantly checking things on his omni-tool. Shepard was engrossed in paperwork most of the morning but went to speak with Liara after a few hours. Kaidan spent most of the morning nursing his arm and talking with the crew. Tali had eaten a quick breakfast then mentioned something about the engineering compartment doing some big adjustment while they were docked and then sped back down to engineering, no one saw her until after shore leave was over.

When they finally docked at the Citadel most of the ground team was standing by the exit and waiting for the docking to finish allowing them to leave, Shepard had showed up in armor together with Wrex whom she was bringing with her to see Kohaku. As the docking finished everyone stepped into the venting compartment and waited for the outer doors to open, and when they did they were duly presented with Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, Ashley gave a salute to her superior; as he approached Shepard did the same.

"Admiral, if I had known you were coming we would have prepared a welcoming committee" said Shepard

"Spare me the pleasantries Commander" grunted the Rear Admiral

The Rear Admiral and Shepard the exchanged a few words about the Normandy and how he was here to do an inspection of the entire thing. Echo already knew there was going to be some flak for his ship so he sent an order to Eva to cloak his ship. When the Rear Admiral stepped into the Normandy and begin his inspection, Echo moved over next to Shepard

"I ordered Eva to cloak my ship, he won't be seeing it and hopefully that will spare us some trouble" said Echo

Shepard nodded and gave a small nod. That was a welcome idea since she really didn't want to bother with the Rear Admiral complaining over an unregistered ship belonging to a freelancer working for the council on the mission.

"Thank you for that, the less he has to complain about the better" replied Shepard with a nod

Everyone waited for a little while until the Rear Admiral made his way back outside to them, he then began listing off his problems with the ship and especially the modified turian style that the overlook was using. Echo was grumbling to himself since he really didn't care for what was said here, it was insignificant.

"Anything else Rear Admiral?" asked Shepard when he had finished his rant

"Nothing Commander, I will be submitting my Report soon, Good Day" he replied and turned to walk away

Once he was out of sight Garrus spoke up "Well he was a rude one wasn't he?"

Shepard just snorted "He has a stick up his ass the size of New York. Come on everyone let's get our jobs done so we can enjoy the shore leave"

Everyone agreed and everyone fit into the elevator that took us down to C-Sec, from there they all split up. Shepard and Wrex went off to find Kohaku, Garrus had told Ashley about a special gun shop down in the wards that he wanted to go check out and she wanted to come with, Liara wanted to know more about humans so she asked them if she could accompany them. They both agreed and even talked about finding Liara a firearm. Kaidan had stayed aboard the ship along with Tali so that just left Echo to go look for the people he needed to see, like Barla Von.

Though Barla Von could wait so Echo decided to take a few walks around the Citadel to see if he could find something to do and perhaps a place to go eat lunch in a few hours. His thoughts however were interrupted when a little gray bolt of lightning smashed into his legs with a loud "oomf" When Echo looked down he saw a small Turian child, female from the looks of it, that had hit him and was now sitting rubbing the front of face, the part Echo assumed to be her nose, after the impact. The little girl did look up and gave him a sly grin

"Sorry for that Mister, I wasn't seeing where I was going" she said

Echo put forward his hand for the little girl to take, she did and he helped her stand back up while giving her a one over. She didn't look that old but he guessed between 9-11 years old, she had black clan markings that Echo recognized due to his good memory and sure enough not a few seconds later a yell came from the crowd

"Liaan come back here!" yelled a familiar turian voice

As soon as the girl looked like she was about to bolt Echo grabbed her by her shoulder and stopped her dead in her tracks, he then turned her around and waited for her parents to arrive. When they did echo quickly recognized both Mettik and Aralak from the councilor's rescue some months ago.

"Mettik, Aralak. So this is the little girl you adopted? Quite the energetic one isn't she?" Echo asked

Mettik and Aralak looked a little confused at first, at least until Mettik recognized the voice and the demeanor of the person holding their daughter by her shoulder.

"Echo… I haven't seen you since you brought in that crazy batarian cannibal, it's been what? 4 months?" asked Mettik

Echo gave a nod "That would fit"

Echo then walked over and handed the little girl now known as Liaan to her parents.

"I would love to catch up Echo but we have to get going, Aralak's parents are arriving in ten minutes and I am not in the mood to listen to his mother nag about us being late, especially not since it would mean less time with her grandchild" said Mettik in a defeated tone

"Come on my mother is not _that_ bad" tried Aralak

"She almost blew a fringe when we arranged Liaan's last birthday on a date that she couldn't attend" was his reply

Aralak just shut up and gave Echo a friendly nod that he returned before they all began heading down towards the docks. Echo just kept walking forward with a smile on his face, he loved seeing families together it always calmed him down.

After another ten minutes of aimless wandering, and locating a small restaurant that served a lunch special that Echo would return for, he had stopped and was looking out over the Presidium as a whole while enjoying watching the busy crowds moving around talking and dragging their shopping bags around with them. As Echo turned to leave an odd sight caught his attention, a tall woman with dark red hair that seemed to be almost gliding along the walkway. When she finally came walking by Echo there was one particular thing that sent Echo's alarm bells ringing, her footsteps weren't making any sound. He quickly spun around and grabbed her by her shoulder

"My apologies miss, but could you explain to me how it is your footsteps are completely silent?" asked Echo with a mock sweetness to his tone

The woman didn't seem particularly happy, either to be grabbed or questioned on that particular subject so she answered with something that she believed would let her move on, she swung her closed fist towards the strangers face with speed and accuracy that didn't befall any human. Luckily for Echo he had seen that particular punch too many times in his life, he knew the perfect counter to it as well. So his body's reflexes simply took over as he slapped away the punch making it fly by his head while he himself brought his fist up and punched the young woman in the throat with the intent of crushing her windpipe. It surprised Echo when the punch connected as his body was used to that particular punch being blocked and then countered, so it was with fascination that Echo watched as the woman staggered backwards and began grabbing her throat in an attempt to allow her to breathe again.

Echo didn't move a muscle to help her despite knowing how to reopen her windpipe, in his mind she had attacked him with a potentially lethal punch and he retaliated with equal force. So imagine his surprise when a tall man suddenly put a hand on the woman's shoulder instantly calming her down, the surprise grew even bigger as the man placed a hand on the woman's throat and give it a squeeze that released the windpipe allowing the woman to begin drawing in large breaths.

What really freaked out Echo was that he hadn't felt this man approach at all, even now his presence seemed nonexistent, but that couldn't be right! He looked over the man, he was wearing a black t-shirt with a black leather jacket with dark red stripes down the arms, a pair of black denim jeans with equal dark red stripes running down the left leg and he was wearing what looked like black sneakers. When Echo looked at the man's head he saw the jet black short messy hair on his head, Echo then looked into the man's eyes and almost recoiled, his irises were golden… Suddenly a presence entered Echo's mind and he began shaking wildly

"Now Marie I thought I told you never to use that punch on someone you weren't intending on killing" said the man

"I know… I am sorry Master it was a foolish thing to do, but the man questioned me about the silent step and I panicked" replied the woman apparently named Marie

"Indeed?" the man raised an eyebrow "Go join the others and return to the base. I will be back later" said the man

The woman looked about to protest but a glare from the man sent her running towards her friends. The man then turned and stared into the other man's eyes, he recognized that man's eyes he had seen them many times in the past. When a fist came flying through the air it was visible to the man that the punch wasn't meant to connect, it was the start of a tantrum so the man simply caught the fist and held it in place

"Now before you begin on your little temper tantrum, should we take this somewhere more private old friend? and perhaps this time we can simply talk without fighting?" asked the man

Echo growled deeply as he got confirmation on who the man in front of him was. The man's voice was teasing and yet friendly, indeed this man in front of him could be no one else but his old friend the raw strength that was keeping his fist captured only cemented it further.

"You were supposed to be dead, Karick… you have been missing for 36 years!" yelled Echo with anger in his voice, how could he not? This man was one of his oldest friends, his oldest sparring partner and the one who had helped him the most in coming to terms with Sivra's death but he had disappeared almost 37 years ago leaving Echo without one of his closest confidants… he was going to get some answers, _Right. Now._

* * *

**A/N: And we stand done once more. Here is a slight cliffy, you are all welcome to guess who Echo just ran into and if you do figure it out I welcome you to let others know in a review or some other way. You see here is how I end up using that one particular character a lot differently from everyone else. Other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will join me next time when these two talk and we progress closer to Feros and closer to where I stopped the Original story!**

**Have a good one**

**-Bundlejumper**


	9. Chapter 9

A second fist was sent flying through the air; this one had every bit of intent on hitting home. When that fist was equally caught in an iron grip all Echo could do was growl again, he was truly furious over this. This man in front of him could perhaps even be called something akin to a brother but their strange relationship was also built on the fact that they only met perhaps two or three times a year and then tried to kill each other.

"For lotus sake, Echo calm down!" yelled Karick

"I'll calm down when you tell me how the hell you got here!" yelled Echo in return

"I'll tell you, just come with me back to base and I will try and explain everything" said Karick calmly

Echo gazed over Karick for a good long while before the pleading in his golden irises caused Echo to stop fighting and calm down himself. Karick released his fists and padded him on the shoulder

"I am sorry I vanished, my friend, but I had no choice in the matter" said Karick

"No… no I suppose you didn't" answered Echo with a knowing voice

Karick just nodded and gestured towards a nearby private landing pad. The two old friends quickly made their way over and into the skycar waiting for them, once they had taken off Karick began speeding towards one of the lowest level in the wards.

"I can't believe you're still alive, Karick…" mumbled Echo

"It is a strange tale my friend I will agree. Tell me, how did everyone react when I disappeared?" asked Karick with a smile

Echo just snorted "Lotus damn near held a party when we suddenly realized you hadn't been seen for ten years. Then after thirty years everyone agreed you were dead and someone actually _did_ throw a party"

"Did you go?" asked Karick amused

"I couldn't get myself to, as much as I hate you for killing so many of my brothers and sisters you were still my best friend at the time, I simply couldn't celebrate your death" replied Echo

Karick got a somber look on his face before nodding "Thank you…"

The rest of the trip was spent in absolute silence as neither of the two men wanted to have their conversation inside a skycar. Once they touched down on a private landing pad next to a large warehouse that seemed reinforced Echo quickly took in every possible escape route and was somehow relieved to find none, once you enter you only leave when Karick wants you to.

Once they stepped inside the sounds of four sets of feet could be heard running towards them, Echo noticed that Karick didn't react so he chose not to either. Soon enough four individuals was standing in front of him, the young woman named Marie from earlier, a set of what looked like twins with blue dyed hair and light skin and a large bulky fellow that was shaved bald with a skin tone that looked like he had taken just a bit too much sun.

"Marie, Morth, Korth, Boris, meet Echo" said Karick while gesturing towards Echo

"Echo, meet Marie, Morth, Korth and Boris, my four students" repeated Karick now with a gesture to the four

Echo gave them all a quick one over; none of them beside the woman seemed to be that impressive. Sure the Boris fellow looked huge as hell but his muscles betrayed the fact that they were more for show than actual use. The pair of twins, or so Echo suspected, seemed to be decently trained but it was also painfully obvious from their stances that they still hadn't learnt to be cautious around other since Echo could see at least seven openings on either twin that allowed him a killing blow.

"But Master he is that strange guy that stopped me earlier" said Marie confused

"He is an old friend of mine Marie and my guest, you will treat him as such" replied Karick

"I do not see what could interest you Master, he looks weak" commented Boris

"Lower left jugular, primary artery, primary tendons on upper left arm…heart" said Echo in a robotic voice

"That, Boris, was the current four easiest targets to either kill or incapacitate you. Make no mistake, Echo here could kill all four you on his own" said Karick with an evil smirk

Boris suddenly felt very scared, a chill was running down his spine from just looking at the weird man that his Master had brought with him, something about him didn't seem right, it was the same feeling he got around his Master when they were sparring.

"Marie, go practice your stances. Morth, Korth you two will practice perception. Boris you will do your usual routine" ordered Karick

A chorus of "Yes Master" was followed by the four individuals leaving the two men alone. Karick then gestured for Echo to follow him and lead him through a door that led into a large room that was furnished and built to look like an Orokin Tower hall. Echo's eyes quickly saw the red and black armor that was sticking out like a sore thumb in this white room, even offline that armor still gave him chills.

"Even standing there, inactive and unmoving, your armor still makes me fear for my life, old friend" said Echo

"Then I did what I did well. Did we ever talk about why I became like I did?" asked Karick

"No, during our fights it was usually just talks about either myself or what the Tenno was currently doing" replied Echo

"I see, I see. Then perchance we shall wait a bit longer before I divulge my biggest secret. Oh and do you mind me calling you Marc?" inquired Karick which Marc replied with a shake of the head

"Have a seat my friend, we have much to talk about and I believe some of it will be vital for one of us" said Karick

Marc quickly went over and took a seat across from his old friend, when he was offered a drink he simply requested water which prompted Karick to joke that he never was much for a drink.

"Then perhaps we should begin with business rather than personal inquires?" asked Karick to which Echo nodded

"Then let me start us off. We have both by now obviously realized that this is not our world, from the way you talk I can only assume you were not moved by your choice either?" asked Karick

"Indeed. I however have a suspicion that you got way more choice than I ever did" replied Marc

Karick adapted a thoughtful expression as he mulled over some facts in his head "You never met one of them did you?" asked Karick now incredibly serious

"Them?" was Marc's only reply

"It would seem you didn't… when you came here to this world did you hear anything? A voice perchance?" continued Karick

"I… I did. All I can clearly recall was the voice asking me to "Find him" and I have no idea about who "him" is" replied Marc

Karick retained his serious expression but now Echo felt an old feeling he hadn't felt since his friend in front him disappeared, real unfiltered and smothering _fear_. Whatever Karick was about to reveal to him it was big.

"When I was… moved… I was met by someone. I cannot reveal who due to some details but I can reveal that I too was asked to locate a certain man, his name is Eric do you recognize the name?" asked Karick

Marc stiffened in his seat as the entire thing played out in front of his eyes again; every little word rang clearer as Marc now fully got the message.

"Eric was his name, I am supposed to find him he supposedly knows something" replied Marc

Karick nodded "I think I know what Eric is supposed to tell you, but I will leave it to you to find him and be told. You must understand my friend that I was taken here and given a mission, a mission I intend on completing"

Marc just nodded, he knew that he couldn't be told anymore then that if Karick said so.

"When the time comes I am to assist this Eric who is on the same mission. Our "reward" for completing this mission is to be returned home. Supposedly if I fail to complete the mission within the allotted time frame I will also be returned home. While there was no punishment mentioned it was heavily eluded to that should I fail it would cost me" continued Karick

"So I must assume you are currently doing everything you can to locate this Eric individual?" asked Marc

"Correct. While training my students I have also begun building a small network of spies and informants to keep me informed of various dealings around the universe, it was how I found you when you first arrived" answered Karick

This caught Marc's attention "Wait you _knew_ I was here? Why the hell didn't you contact me?" asked Marc in disbelief

Karick shrugged "Simple really. When I first observed you I noticed something… The way you behave, the way you walk the people you talk to, everything began falling into place and it only got confirmed when that attack on that human colony came on the news, at the time I didn't know what set you off but it wasn't even half an hour later when you were down in the wards preventing an attack on a Quarian… You have walked this world before haven't you?" asked Karick

Marc leaned his head back and let out a loud sigh as he contemplated telling Karick everything, but it was almost too big a risk who knows what changes could come of it? But then again… the very fact that him, Karick and this Eric person was in this world had already created a large change, so perhaps this could work in his favor. When Marc leveled his head once more and stared into Karick's eyes it was now Karick's turn to feel a shiver run up his spine.

"What I am about to say will remain between you and I. No one else, not even Sivra has heard this" began Marc which caused Karick to nod "This world and our own, I have indeed "walked" both before. But not in the way you suspect I didn't walk these worlds on my own legs… Do you know what a video game is?" asked Marc to which Karick gave a nod "That is what this was to me, as was our world… they were both video games from my own world, that is how I know where I am going and whom to talk with. Even our world I saw before I arrived" finished Marc

Karick just sat stock still and stared at his old friend, he didn't know how to take this. But how could he deny it? He himself was now in a different world so how was it a stretch that in Marc's original world everything was but a game? His hands found their way to his eyes as he rubbed them tiredly

"So what you are telling me… is that this, all of this, is nothing but a game?" asked Karick

Marc just gave a stern nod "I'm sorry, but it's true"

"So I guess you played this game?" continued Karick

"I played it a lot, yes" replied Marc

"So do you know what will happen to this world?" asked Karick

Marc gave a loud sigh "I do. Every event with a certain form of impact on the greater scale I know about, just like I know what impact certain important individuals have on these events" finished Marc

Karick adopted his thinking pose once more and sat unmoving for a few minutes while he was debating what his friend had just told him, something didn't add up though

"How come you haven't prevented certain things from happening since your arrival? The kidnapping of the councilor cannot be counted as that was a set up by me, an unknown variable. I am however sure that certain events could have been prevented entirely, the attack on that human colony for example" said Karick

"My friend what you must understand is that I know how everything plays out, and I have already begun to change things by simply joining the crew of Commander Shepard. The events I have set in motion will change the entire way this plays out. For now I might be able to predict the coming months but past that I really don't know how much impact my presence will have made. There is also this Eric character to factor in, I don't know what changes he has created or you for that matter" said Marc

"So you are changing nothing in fear of losing grip on everything?" asked Karick

"In a way. I have set myself to change certain events, I will try to let certain people survive the coming events but I cannot be sure if it is possible. When it all comes down to the last stand I hope we are ready for it, because in the games my friend it wasn't pretty" replied Marc

Karick grumbled a few words before looking back to his friend "Why do I get the feeling you just moved up my time table?" asked Karick

"Because I have, in a 3 years' time an ancient race of organic machine's called The Reapers will arrive and begin their destruction of this universe" replied Marc

Karick just sunk down into his chair and glared at his old friend from between his fingers "It is time's like this I remember why I tried to kill you so many times…" muttered Karick

"Be that as it may. I assume you will adjust your plans accordingly?" inquired Marc

"I will have to. I will also increase my attempts at locating this Eric person, he will most likely hold important pieces of the puzzle. What about you? Planning anything that could potentially assist us?" asked Karick in return

"Not really, I will of course pass you any information that deviates from the norm of this world… Now perhaps can we talk about why you have four students out there?" replied Marc

Karick got a bemused look on his face as he glanced towards the door leading out into the main hall

"Well first off I do believe you told me I had been gone for 36 years, correct?" Marc nodded "Well I have only been in this world for 10 years, this does provide a rather amusing idea does it not? Then again I do wonder why I was given 50 years when those who sent me here clearly knew what would transpire in three years… I must inquire about that at a later date" began Karick

"So you have only been here for 10 years, how did you come across your for protégés?" asked Marc

"Well I met young Marie out there nine years ago when she was but fifteen years old, she was attempting to steal some food and showed decent talent for stealth. I followed her for a time and realized that she knew her way around extremely well and at the time I was in need of someone with extensive knowledge of the Citadel so I met up with her and offered her a deal, come train under me and I would ensure she never needed to steal again" said Karick

"So she has been studying under you for 9 years? How much has she learned?" asked Marc

"She is a good student, I have thought her various forms of stealth as well as the silent step which you noticed" Marc gave a grunt at that "I thought her some forms of assassination as well as a few martial arts forms, and I do believe you noticed I thought her the first few steps of our little dance?" the last bit was said with a smile

"Indeed I did, hence why I crushed her windpipe. Why would you teach her that though? It isn't of any use since all the moves are indeed intended to kill but needs to be countered equally for the entire thing to make sense" questioned Marc

"Indeed, but you must not forget the on their own each of our strikes have an intention behind them. Take my fifteenth strike or your twentieth, each of them is meant to paralyze the other for a short moment allowing us to conduct our sixteenth and twenty-first strike separately" summed up Karick

"Correct but I still don't see the overall point in teaching a 24 year old a series of strikes that was developed and honed over the course of a few hundred years" shrugged Marc

"I will admit that only a few of the steps might seem rather useless when looked upon but that is why I stuck with teaching her the striking steps, you did after all notice how she didn't block your strike" Marc just snorted "Aside from learning that she has also gotten basic training in a lot of minor fields like hacking and infiltration along with a lot of smaller skills" finished Karick

"You're turning that girl into a specialist?" asked Marc

"In a way" was Karick's short reply

"If you had to rate her against the Tenno then what rank are we talking?" inquired Marc

"Somewhere mid-hunter if we go without the Frames, with them she would only be low disciple" answered Karick

"Impressive for a human and one so young as well. What about the twins out there?" continued Marc

"Ah yes, Morth and Korth. Would you believe I found the pair in an underground fighting tournament down in the lowest part of the wards?" said Karick with a smile

"Really? They don't look like they can fight in close combat" replied Marc wide eyed

"Alone? Never. Together? I have not seen something like that in many years" Marc got a questioning look in his eyes at that "When those two fight together there is a connection between them, I haven't seen anyone fight together like they do. When one moves the other guards him or strikes on his own, their fighting style is like a well-choreographed dance, not one step out of place and not one movement wasted…" Marc didn't miss the way his old friend was hesitating "You might not believe me old friend, but they passed the Two Man Team simulation…"

Marc almost shot out of his chair "You can't be serious?! Do you mean to tell me that two _humans_ have passed a test that even Tenno who have worked together for a thousand years have trouble passing?!" half-yelled Marc

Karick ever the image of tranquility (most of the time) just gave a lopsided smirk "Indeed they did, trust me I was just as surprised as you"

"I almost don't want to ask this, but what happens if you separate them?" asked Marc carefully

Karick's eyes steeled once the question had been spoken "I tried that. Took one of them away while they slept and put him in a different room and locked both of the rooms. When they awoke they tried to beat down the doors and where yelling and screaming for the other, something isn't right about the two that much is for sure. But if they think the other is in danger they will move entire planets to find them"

Marc gave a whistle at that one "Incredible and a bit disturbing. Is their names really Morth and Korth?" asked Marc with a bit of humor

"I suspect not but it is what they refer to each other by so I simply do the same" replied Karick with a shrug

"I suppose. Then I guess there is just Boris out there left" replied Marc with his own shrug

"Yes indeed. He is the most recent addition to the team; he however found us rather than the other way around. He snuck in here and tried to attack Marie for whatever reason he has yet to divulge to me. He got beat so thoroughly that he still isn't saying more than five words in a row to Marie" said Karick

"And because of that you decided to train him?" asked Marc a little confused

"He showed exceptional stealth skills when he infiltrated this place, he did manage to hold out thirty seconds against Marie, that was fifteen seconds longer than the twins before they were beaten. So I took to him and decided to train him, if he fucks up I will kill him" said Karick with yet another shrug

Marc gave a snort at the last comment "Yes that seems to be your MO. So what have you been up to besides training these four?"

"Most just getting familiar with the world I am in. Marie has been a great help in that department and has shown and taught me a lot about the various species and so forth. I must say though, the technology of these races are woefully behind when compared to the Orokin" said Karick with a bit of humor

"Yes of course, let us compare the ancient empire with these species that have relied on technology found primarily from an extinct species. I still wonder why the Orokin developed the Warframe for us though, it's curious" said Marc

"They didn't" was Karick's very short reply, a cold glare form Marc made him go on "Humanity developed the first Warframe prototype, when we first encountered the Orokin we shared that technology with them and they improved it with their own. Soon the first Warframe's were created and the Tenno came into existence, do you know your kind's origins?" asked Karick

Marc just shook his head "Then allow me to tell you the short version. Humanity joined the Orokin Empire not long after they encountered them and lend their assistance in the fight against the Sentients… do you know of the Sentients war?" asked Karick

Marc nodded "An ancient race that turned your technology against you and eventually you stood to lose the battle, the Orokin then took those who managed to survive returning from the void and build the Warframe's around them to contain their affliction which was killing them because of their Void exposure. That just never made sense to me, you just said the Orokin build the Warframes with the help of humanity?" asked Marc clearly confused

"The archives were falsified for safety reasons… It is true that we built the Warframes around those who survived the Void but there was a part of that we never mentioned to anyone…" Marc could see how difficult this was for his old friend "Orokin couldn't survive going into the Void, only humanity ever survived going into the cursed place. Only after many years of study did we build our Orokin Towers that could sustain life in the Void, but even then we couldn't have any connection to the Void outside the Tower, if we did we died"

Marc was genuinely shocked by that revelation, but if only Humanity could survive returning from the void… "The Tenno… they are Humanity evolved after exposure to the Void aren't they?" asked Marc while rubbing his eyes

"Yes… when the first human's returned they carried the taint of the Void and needed to live inside their Warframe's to survive, but as the years passed Humanity adapted faster than the Orokin could ever comprehend… soon one of the humans that returned from the Void and was placed in a Warframe began showing strange tendencies" Karick seemed to have a mental battle for a short moment "He stepped out of his Warframe… just like that the first of the new Tenno walked among us. This one man started it all, he showed that he could now live outside his Warframe, his body had turned completely pale and his eyes were a shade of gold. Soon most of the returning humans began living outside their Warframes and it was clear to the Orokin what they had done, they had forced Humanity to become more than they were" finished Karick

Marc leaned as far back as his seat would allow "My god… how come the Tenno doesn't know this? They always looked at me with great reverence like I was truly unique but they evolved from my kind?"

Karick's fist tightened around the armrest of his chair and a crack sounded as they broke "After their betrayal the Tenno decided to abandon all connection to the Orokin besides their Warframes and chose to never speak of their true heritage again. I do not know how many years went by before they completely forgot their true origin"

"I-I don't know how to react to that… to think that so much time would have passed? But the Grineer and Corpus seem like they have only been around for a few hundred years if not less…" suddenly Marc's head snapped up and stared directly at his old friend "Karick how long were the Tenno in Cryo-sleep for?"

"I don't know… When they first chose to enter Cryo I chose the same, I couldn't afford to die before I had fulfilled my purpose… Many of the Tenno suffered from memory loss due to Cryo and when I awoke the Tower had entered a form of Stasis that ended with my awakening so it had no data on how much time had passed either… but I walked the world a few hundred years before the Tenno awoke" replied Karick now deep in thought

"Unbelievable…" was Marc's singular reply

"But can they truly have forgotten? I know why the Corpus refers to them as the betrayers… Tell me Marc did the Tenno ever mention any of this in your time with them?" asked Karick

"No never, in fact a lot of resources have been put into understanding just why the Corpus calls us as such; we know they praise the Orokin as some sort of mechanical gods. I honestly can't say if the Tenno truly have forgotten… they remember about Hayden Tenno and the time before the Orokin but even that information seems to be shaky at best, I am actually now beginning to wonder just how much of our information is either wrong or based on assumptions of the past…" said Marc now a little distressed

Karick grumbled a few words that Marc missed but he assumed some were relevant and others were… colorful… "I would be inclined to believe you my friend, it would certainly also assist your theory that every Tenno I ever faced, with you and few others as the exception, asked why I was doing what I was doing. It does not please me to think that these Tenno died without knowing the reason for their demise, nor do I find any solace in that the Orokin could potentially have been well and truly forgotten…"

Suddenly Marc just threw his arms into the air in a gesture of complete surrender "We don't have time to deal with this!" Shouted Marc "As much as I want to get to the bottom of this seemingly glaring hole in history we both currently have a mission that is vitally important, or at least yours seem to be"

Karick sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair "You are right, what is done is done and we can always uncover what caused all this in the future. Perhaps we should turn towards more pleasant topics?" asked Karick

Marc heartily agreed and the two old friends turned their conversation towards much more enjoyable topics. Their talk lasted for some good hours, they managed to cover quite a lot of ground both about Karick's ten years in this world and Marc's 36 years following Karick's disappearance and his subsequent year in this World before he joined Shepard. The two friends rose and began making their way towards the exit while still talking about the weapons of this world.

At the same time two almost identical silhouettes were hanging from the ceiling and looking down at their Master and his guest, both thought they could perhaps prove themselves a little to their Master by catching both of them off guard with a sneak attack. Sadly for the poor set of twins Marc had felt their presence as soon as he entered the large hall, he made a few subtle gestures to Karick indicated their presence above them and Karick didn't show any signs of acknowledgement but he didn't need to either.

So when the twins dropped down with every bit of intent in striking down and potentially pinning their targets they were not ready when their two targets in perfect sync swung their legs upwards in a circle motion that would see their feet meet directly above their heads. The twins both quickly brought their arms in front of their faces in an attempt to defend but realized their mistake when a foot struck each of their arms and sent the back of their heads ramming into each other and giving them both a concussion.

The sound of two guys landing on the ground with a loud *thump* were enough to draw Marie and Boris out of their respective rooms so they could see what was happening, Marie was not really surprised when she found the twins on the ground, holding their heads in their hands in pain. Karick knelt down next to the twins and shook his head while sighing

"I have told you two over and over again to never perform a sneak attack on targets you have no information on. My guest here spotted you the second we left my chambers and gave me the signal for two opponents hiding above us poised to strike, it was bad enough you got found out but your strategy of just falling straight down hoping to take us by surprise is what led you two to getting your heads bumped" commented Karick

All the response that got was to grunts and moans of pain, neither twin was really capable of doing much talking right now.

"Boris take these two into the med-bay and patch them up" ordered Karick

Seconds later two still moaning twins were dragged away by the collar of their shirt by an angry Boris who didn't want to waste time on such nonsense. Back with the others Marie was glancing curiously at her Master's guest, sure her Master had told them that his guest was capable of killing them all should he want to but she still wasn't convinced.

"Return to your studies Marie, I will escort my friend here back to the Presidium" ordered Karick

"Yes Master" said Marie before turning to leave

"23 times since you entered the room, in case you were wondering" said Marc seemingly out of the blue

Karick gave a low chuckle at the way his best student froze before walking again, he knew that his old friend had just pointed out the amount of opportunities he had to kill her since she arrived in the room but he also thought Marie was smart enough to realize that on her own, or at least he hoped so after nine years.

"Let's get moving my friend, we need you back before someone becomes suspicious" joked Karick

Marc snorted and followed his old friend out towards the shuttle… it was good having one of his oldest friends back and now he also had someone who knew his biggest secret, it was nice to get that off his chest in a way.

**Somewhere on Thessia**

A middle aged man that looked like he was somewhere in his late thirties, he had brown hair that was cut very short and his skin was nicely tanned, though the most peculiar thing about the man was his eyes; they were a deep shade of purple, not something common to the human race. This man was currently sitting in his living room and enjoying a nice bit of green tea, how he had managed to get regular human tea to Thessia no one really knew. Every so often the man would glance out of his window and gaze at the forest outside his home, given that there was only forest for 100km around his home it certainly did ensure he couldn't look at much else, unless we count the lake that was two minutes from his home, he had that to look at too. He was currently reading today's newspaper on his omni-tool, he read about the destruction of a prothean ruin on Therum which made the man chuckle for a few moments, the chuckle echoing in the large home. It was quiet in his home, it had been since his wife passed on a few short years ago; Goddess guide her.

He had a daughter as well; she had recently involved herself in some unfortunate business. The man knew he could have prevented his little girl from ever coming close to that foul Turian but he had many years ago convinced himself that everything needed to play out as it was supposed to. He even had a grand-daughter he could look after as well, though currently she was out having crazy adventures with a Spectre. This didn't soothe the man in any way, he really didn't want his only grand-child to be messing around with Spectres that always went out and got into serious trouble and the one she was following was almost destined to find trouble wherever she went.

The man took a sip of his tea as a bright light erupted in his room; the middle aged man chose to ignore it as he knew what would be coming out of the light, it was after all not the first time it happened. Sure enough what looked like a human made completely out of light stepped out of the giant shining light before slowly transforming into what could best be described as a an average guy, the human that was now standing in his room had no features of which to identify him, in fact if you looked at his face and then looked away you were more liable to simply forget what you had just looked at then actually remember anything. The middle aged man gestured for the open seat across from him and the new guest nodded in thanks before taking a seat.

"Some tea?" asked the middle aged man

"Ah no thank you Aikar, sadly I am not here on a social visit" said the strange human

The middle aged man apparently called Aikar scoffed "When do you ever come for social visits huh, Mact?"

The strange human apparently called Mact smiled "Why do you insist on calling me by that name? You know I have none" asked Mact

"I need to call you something otherwise I wouldn't be able to address you and "Shiny bright light thingy" was only funny when my little girl was… well, little" replied Aikar

"Very well. Would you terribly mind if called you by your real name since it is only you and I?" asked Mact

Aikar looked verily at his guest "If you wish to use my real name then this must be serious" said Aikar as he closed his omni-tool

"Indeed it is" began Mact "Eric I have come to inform you that you have been sent another one to assist you" finished Mact

This seemed to annoy the newly named Eric "Have you not learned from the past?! The last three met their end barely a month after they arrived, the longest lasting "assistant" I have had survived a year before she got herself blown up! Why do you even send them anymore? After all these years I still haven't gotten any closer and their help only hinders me! No more assistants, I will not have you kill more of my cousins over this!" yelled Eric

Mact was trying to soothe his host "Please Eric calm down! This one is not like the others; this one is even older than you, he has experience in fighting and will survive I promise he even has a super advanced armor to protect him"

This sent Eric back in his seat, staring at his guest "Who?"

"His name is Karick, I do believe he was called "The Stalker" in his old Dimension" replied Mact

"The title rings a bell but the name means nothing to me, you say he is older than me? By how much?" asked Eric

"That is not for me to tell, you know that" answered Mact

Eric just grumbled a few swear words before glancing out over the forest again. This was not a welcome development, he had spent most of his life here on figuring out a way to complete his mission but the constant arrival of "Assistants" had indeed only hindered him until now and it was beginning to become aggravating.

"This time my brother have however tasked him with locating you on his own time, rather than telling him of your location" spoke Mact

"Good, perhaps he will actually come to me with a lead to go on" commented Eric

"Yes, let us hope" Mact began shifting a little in his seat which earned him a glare from Eric that almost screamed "what?" it was with great reluctance that Mact spoke again "There is something else… someone else has arrived as well"

Eric's eyes flew wide open as he stared at his guest "What do you mean someone else arrived?! Were you and your family so incredibly stupid as to bring TWO of my cousins here?!" yelled Eric

"No! He came on his own Eric! He is one of the few who somehow managed to walk on their own! This is the second time he has done it now! I was informed by my brother than he managed to direct his second shift to be closer to a time he should be familiar with…" Mact then suddenly became very quiet which only caused Eric to grow suspicious

"What" growled Eric

"If what my brother told me is true… then he is of your dimension…" spoke Mact weakly

Eric was out of his seat and was now towering over his sitting guest "Are you telling that not only do I have TWO of my cousins in this dimension now, one of them is from my OWN?! Do you realize what the chances are of two of us being alive at the same time?!" yelled Eric now clearly angry

His guest rose to his full height which met Eric's own 200cm almost perfectly "Of course I know! But there is nothing we can do! Those of you that developed the ability to walk on your own we cannot shift! We can direct your shifts once they have begun, but only if we catch them in the beginning! Beyond that we are helpless to watch them as they walk the dimensions and we can only hope the survive to return home!" yelled Mact in response

"Why not contact him then? Tell him of us all, our mission and the situation at hand?" asked Eric now slightly less angry

"You know we can't… We are not allowed to inform them of their origins until they meet the first arrival, you in this case, my brother told me he instructed this one to find you once he arrived. Now my brother doesn't know how much of his message got across but he hopes that there was enough so that you two would eventually meet… Once he finds you, you must inform him of everything you deem important even the mission if you think he will be an asset. But from what we have observed he seems to have found his own purpose in this dimension as well, I ask that you do not take that from him as it could potentially lead him to perform a shift back to him home dimension" ordered Mact

"I understand… I will need to depart Thessia soon as well; perhaps I will rejoin the world and renew my search on my own until I meet this Karick individual. For now however I will watch and hope for the best" said Eric

"Good, I wish you the best of luck Eric perhaps soon we will be able to send you home and strip you of your curse" said Mact

Mact began disappearing in another flash of light but Eric spoke before he could vanish completely "This is my home. When I finish this mission my only wish is for _her_ to remove this curse from me so I may finally die and rejoin my loved ones" said Eric in a sad tone

Mact gave a nod before he vanished completely from sight and the light disappeared. Eric fell back down into his seat and looked down at his now cold tea… he then looked over at the small shelf that was above his fireplace, again no one knew why he had an old human fireplace in his home, and looked at the picture that was standing on top of it. In the picture was a clearly ecstatic Eric with a big stupid grin planted on his face, standing alongside a purple skinned Asari with brilliant blue eyes that still to this day made Eric weak in the knees, and in Eric's arms was a little bundle of cloth wrapped in that cloth was a little blue skinned Asari who was clearly smiling with her hands pointing out towards her father's face. Eric smiled at the picture before a tear rolled down his cheek

"I am so sorry my little angel, I am so sorry for what will happen"

Eric then looked out into the forest again and got a cold hard look in his eyes before he began muttering to himself.

"Of all things to happen… _two_ of my cousins arrive, one is supposedly _older_ than me, another is a free walker and lord knows when he will up and vanish from this dimension… take into consideration we are now in 2183 and that means the events have begun, I have three years before the Reapers descend if everything is going as planned… I am so fucking screwed that it isn't even funny anymore.

A quick glance at the cabinet in the corner and Eric had made up his mind, he was getting blindingly drunk tonight and tomorrow he would nurture his hangover while figuring out a way off Thessia without almost causing an interspecies incident, _again_.

**Back on the Citadel with Marc**

Marc had found his way down to the restaurant area of the Presidium and was currently looking for a place to have a decent bit of food; he was actually feeling slightly hungry since he hadn't eaten at all since he left the ship earlier. It took a few more minutes of mindless wandering but he did come by a restaurant he recognized from his time on the Citadel, it was a really high end place that required formalwear. He had eaten here once before with Sha'ira when she had asked for his help with a small problem, if he remembered correct the food here was excellent and he could certainly afford it, but unlike last time he where he was dragged through the front door by a frantic Nelyna, this time he actually needed the formalwear to enter.

It actually sounded like a decent idea, he could enjoy a good meal and he knew for a fact that the restaurant was silent as people preferred to watch the other guests dance or talk quietly among themselves. He didn't mind paying a few credits for a new suit just to get in; the suit might even be needed again in the future. With a slight nod of his head Marc was about to turn on his heel and go back towards the shopping district when a black pony-tail caught his attention, it would seem Shepard was out looking for food as well.

"Hello Shepard" greeted Marc

Upon hearing her name Shepard turned around and smiled when she saw Marc standing there

"Hey Marc, you out looking for a place to eat as well?" asked Shepard

"Indeed I was but I have found a place to eat already…" a stray thought passed through Marc's mind that let him to a question "Would you care to join me?" he asked

Shepard blinked a few times before grinning "Why Marc, are you asking me out on a date?"

Now it was Marc's turn to blink… was he asking her out on a date? He didn't think so "You can call it what you wish Shepard" was Marc's reply

Shepard frowned a little at her failure to rile him up a little but none the less smiled and nodded

"Do you have a place in mind?" she asked

Marc gestured with his thumb behind him towards the high end place he had just looked at. When Shepard followed his finger her eyes almost bulged out of her head

"Are you crazy? How would we even get in, much less pay for it?" asked Shepard completely confused

"Credits are of no mind to me, so if the price is worrying for you I will pay for you. As for the table? That is easily handled" replied Marc with a shrug

Shepard looked him over a few times before she decided to trust his words

"Okay sounds good; I better go back and change into something a little more formal then. What about you?" asked Shepard

"I will go acquire a suit for me to wear. Meet me back here in a hour" replied Marc

Shepard gave a smile and a nod before turning and walking off towards the shuttle. Marc looked after her a little before he himself turned and headed in the opposite direction, he needed to go see the consort about that favor she owed him.

Getting to the consort's chambers didn't take long and Marc now found himself standing and waiting for Nelyna to return from whatever she had been doing. When the mentioned Asari finally showed up at the front terminal she almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed Marc standing there.

"Mr. Echo what a surprise. Are you here to see the Consort?" asked Nelyna

Marc gave a nod before Nelyna simply told him to head up since the Consort wasn't seeing anyone at the moment. On his way through the small establishment he did get a few jealous glances from both men and women but Marc ignored all of them, he wasn't here for that after all. Inside the private chambers of Sha'ira he was greeted warmly with a hug.

"Echo how good to see you again! I suppose you are finally collecting on that favor I owe you?" asked Sha'ira with a smile

"That would be correct. I need to borrow your table at the restaurant we met at last time" was Marc's reply

Sha'ira smiled intrigued at that "I see… who is the lucky woman you have are eating with?" she asked

"I am eating with Commander Shepard tonight" replied Marc

This practically made Sha'ira beam with happiness, almost so much that Marc was actually considering to bribe the owner of the restaurant for a table, instead of going through this.

"Then I insist that you borrow my table! The Commander did me a great favor so I am only happy to help" said Sha'ira while gesturing with her arms

'_Yes I am almost positive after meeting Shepard that she did you a great deal more than just a "favor"…'_ thought Marc after seeing Sha'ira's reaction. He then felt Sha'ira's eyes on him and he was correct as she was currently looking him over.

"Are you going to be wearing that to dinner?" asked Sha'ira a little disgusted

Marc looked down at his clothes before shrugging "I was thinking of getting myself a tuxedo for the night"

This made Sha'ira smile once again "Then I must insist you let my personal tailor make one for you"

Knowing it was an exercise in futility to try and argue with Sha'ira when she is like this Marc simply nodded and followed her out of the building and towards her tailor.

The before mentioned tailor turned out to be a matriarch Asari who looked like she could be younger than Liara… it actually made Marc a little uneasy that this woman in front of him was around 800 years old and yet she looked _younger_ than Liara, that just shouldn't happen and he was quite sure there was foul play involved, but chose not to say anything.

The tailor had also taken it as a personal challenge to outfit a tall person such as Marc since she didn't get someone with his height and build very often. So out came various materials, buttons, lining and lord knows what else was used, the only thing Marc actually recognized was the omni-tool the tailor used to take his measurements.

After 45 of the most trying minutes in Marc's life he was leaving the tailor wearing an old school black human Tuxedo that was modified with a bit of Asari style making the entire thing look quite nice in all honesty. Under the Tux was a clear white shirt and around his neck was a black tie to complete the look. It was a grateful Marc that said goodbye to Sha'ira and thanked her for all the help which she replied to by pointing out the fact that he paid for tux.

Marc arrived at the terminal closest to the restaurant just two minutes before he was meant to meet up with Shepard. Almost on the two minute mark a shuttle landed and the door opened to reveal Shepard in her dress, once she stepped outside the shuttle and actually caught sight of Marc she was quite amused by the way he was looking at her. In Marc's defense Shepard had decided to let her hair down which meant it was reaching just a little lower than her shoulders, she was wearing a subtle red lipstick that seemed to make lips seem fuller and her makeup only enhanced every other feature on her face.

The dress she was wearing was a nice black one piece dress that reached down to just above her knees and was being held up by a strap that went over her left shoulder; the dress also revealed a tasteful amount of cleavage which Shepard herself appreciated. She was wearing nothing else as Shepard didn't exactly have any jewelry on the Normandy and the Dress itself was only because she once had to attend a formal event as Anderson's date… or as his protection if you ask Anderson himself.

Marc had been caught off guard when Shepard had stepped out of the shuttle, mostly because he had spent so many hours playing Mass Effect so he just had this one singular image of the character he had played as for all those hours, but the individual standing here in front of him was so much more and that he couldn't deny no matter how much he wanted to.

"My, my you certainly look handsome when you dress up" said Shepard with a small smile

"I must say you are quiet beautiful yourself Sarah" replied Marc with a kind smile

Shepard felt her cheeks heat up at the sincerity in the compliment and simply nodded in thanks, not trusting her voice not to squeak. She was a little surprised when Marc turned around and offered his arm for her; she took it and let herself be led towards the restaurant. Once they reached the entrance she was mesmerized how calmly Marc simply stated he had a reservation and spoke his alias. When the greeter had confirmed that he reservation he just smiled at them, apparently when he saw what table it was he almost turned frantic and began apologizing for his lack of respect as he let them towards an table that was sitting in a semi-closed booth with a view out over the dance floor. When they had both been seated Shepard couldn't hold back her question anymore.

"Okay whose table is this? That guy seemed like he had just insulted one of the councilor's to their face or something" asked Shepard

Marc gave one of those half evil, half jesting smiles "This might be the Consorts private table, so in a way he might have done something a little worse than insulting a councilor"

Shepard froze and stared down over the table, was she really sitting at the Consorts' private table?

"How did you get this?" she croaked out

"Sha'ira owed me a favor, but when I mentioned I would be eating with you she insisted I borrow it as a favor to both of us" replied Marc as he looked out over the dance floor

"You just keep surprising, you know that?" returned Shepard

"Indeed? Well do you care to explain how it is that Sha'ira was so insistent that I borrow this table _after_ I mentioned your name? It isn't because you are the first human spectre, I know that for a fact" countered Marc

Shepard felt her cheeks flush over as she looked away and mumbled something that Marc didn't quite catch over the music.

"I'm sorry what did you say?" he asked

"I might have helped her with a slight problem she had" she answered

"You slept with her afterwards I assume?" he returned as if it was daily conversation

Shepard was staring at him with wide eyes before she nodded and tried to look away again. She didn't really care that he knew but there was still something about talking about her sex life at a dinner that didn't sit all that well with her.

If one of them had intended to say something it was interrupted by the arrival of the waiter with their menu's, once Shepard had a look at the first item on the list she almost slammed the menu shut but she closed it calmly and put it down before staring pointedly at Marc

"Have you seen the prices?" she asked quietly

Marc nodded behind his menu "I have eaten here before Sarah" he then looked over the menu at her "I told you I would pay so don't hold back on my account"

Shepard looked at him a little warily before picking the menu back up from the table and began looking through the various dishes available; she couldn't pronounce half of them and didn't know what the other half was.

When the waiter returned and asked for their order Marc calmly ordered a vegetable soup for his entrée, a type of beef that came from an animal native to Thessia as his main and for dessert he went very basic and ordered a small bit of vanilla ice-cream with some chocolate at the side, for drinks he deferred to the waiter's suggestion. Shepard was a little shakier in her order but she got a salad dish for entrée, the same beef dish as Marc for her main and a small chocolate cake for dessert, she also took the waiter's suggestion in drinks. Once the waiter had left Shepard looked at Marc with a bit of surprise

"You are very calm about all of this aren't you?" she asked

"I told you, I have eaten in places like this before" was his reply

Shepard nodded in response "Have you tried any of the things you ordered before?" she asked

"I ordered the same two dishes when I was here with the Consort" he replied

"Oh…" was her silent reply.

When the entrée arrived they both began eating and the comfortable silence eventually gave room for light conversation. They talked about the military again and Marc divulged a little more about the various ranks within the Tenno and how one goes about earning a promotion. Shepard talked about her time in the Alliance and some of her past missions that she felt defined her career more so than Elysium. The topic also swayed to the mission and the two spoke in length over the main course about the various points of the mission, they also talked about where they should be going next and eventually Shepard divulged she would like to go to Feros next as she didn't feel right leaving the colony alone for much longer, Marc agreed with her assessment. As the dessert arrived Marc noticed that Shepard seemed a little hesitant

"Sarah if you have something you wish to say, say it" he commented

"I know, I know it's just I don't know how you will react to me snooping around in your past" she replied

"I highly doubt you found anything about me Sarah, but I am curious what you found regardless" he said with a smile

"It wasn't about you specifically I found out. You see I searched in general for any record of "The Tenno" and found only one lead" this actually made Marc put down his cutlery and gaze at Shepard with undivided attention "I found a person… a man to be specific. His name was Hayden Tenno"

Marc's eyes widened at the name and Shepard didn't miss it. He did indeed recognize the name, but how couldn't he? What was more prominent was how the hell Hayden could have existed here if he had, should some information about the Technocyte virus have leaked out?

"Marc, talk to me" said Shepard a little concerned when he wasn't answering

"Shepard" he began carefully "Hayden Tenno is a very dangerous name to throw around the Tenno… what did you find about him?" he asked

"Not much, he lived some 180 years ago, give or take 10 years. Most of his records are completely redacted and no matter which of my ranks I throw around I couldn't get my hands on the un-edited versions. But from what I could gather he worked for the government and was subsequently killed in an accident some years after being discharged from service" she answered

"Sarah before I say anything else you must promise me something" she nodded "You must promise me never to talk about this to anyone else but me, you are unearthing things that was buried for a damn good reason. I can't reveal the extent of my involvement but just understand that Hayden was a good man and life went bad for him. I promise to one day tell you more but for now that is all I can reveal" was Marc's answer

Shepard nodded a few times "I promise and I am holding you to yours"

After Marc nodded his acceptance they returned to their desserts and also returned to some more pleasant topics, at least until Shepard began asking about his tuxedo and he suddenly turned very quiet and almost refused to talk about it.

When their plates had been taken away for the last time they both fell back into that comfortable silence as they looked out over the dance floor where currently a slow tune was playing. When Marc looked over he saw the look in Sarah's eyes and he shrugged to himself before standing up and reaching his hand out to a confused Shepard who took it and smiled when she realized she was being led out towards the dance floor. Once they were among the other couples on the floor the two just fell in with the rest and danced slowly to the music.

Shepard was smiling into Marc's chest and was doing her best to hide how exited she was about actually be doing something this… _normal_… she didn't think she would ever get to try something like this while the mission was still going on. She also felt quite content with the slow swaying they were doing as she felt Marc's arm around her waist and her own hand in his.

"You know it's nice that we could do something like this despite what is going on" commented Shepard with a sigh

A low chuckle escaped Marc "Yes indeed, it is nice to escape from reality be it only for a few hours where we can pretend we aren't facing down one the biggest threats in the universe"

"Exactly" said Shepard

After a minute of more dancing Shepard began chuckling which prompted Marc to ask what was so funny

"Our whole situation really, I mean you and me. I have barely known you for two weeks and look at what I have done, I have told you more about myself than I have ever done before, I cried in front of you… and don't ever mention that to anyone" this drew a chuckle from Marc "Also and most importantly, I trust you more than I should. I don't know why I trust you as much as I do but something in my gut just tells me that you won't leave my side in the middle of a fight, and now you have managed to lure me out on a date as well" finished Shepard with a chuckle of her own

"I certainly didn't lure you into anything and you called it a date, not me. Though I feel I should apologize for how little I have revealed about myself in view of how much you have truly revealed about yourself to me" replied Marc

"I know you will tell me about yourself when you feel it is time, that's just the way you are" returned Shepard

"Yes indeed it is and it is a bit unnerving how quickly you found that out" said Marc

"Call it one of my talents" mused Shepard with a laugh

The two then fell into silence as the last of the song played out and their dance came to an end. They returned to the table to grab their check and then went up to the front so Marc could pay which he did with a smile and a thank you to the cashier. Outside Shepard gazed up and noticed that the night cycle of the Citadel had begun and the entire area was now coated in the artificial moon light.

"It's so beautiful out here during the night cycle" began Shepard before a grin came to her face "All that is needed to finish this "date" is for us to take a little night stroll around the Presidium" joked Shepard

Marc gave a smile of his own and decided to call her joke by gently placing his arm on her lower back and begin leading her towards a set of stairs. Shepard let herself be led and soon she found herself walking in the garden part of the Presidium which was filled with trees and small ponds here and there, it was one of the most beautiful places in the Presidium. She wanted to speak but Marc kept leading her forward until they came to a small row of benches by the side of the Presidium Lake. After sitting down they both enjoyed the view out over the lake where you could look all the way along the curve of the Presidium, a small content sigh escaped Shepard at the sight

"You know it's sad that this sort of thing can't be a regular occurrence, not for people like us anyway" began Shepard

"Because once this mission is over, something will have changed no matter how it ends someone will come out with losses and we don't know how that will affect everything" finished Marc

"Exactly… I hate it" commented Shepard

Marc looked at the woman at his side and he felt that she deserved at least some hope, so perhaps using some of his future knowledge would be okay.

"In the times to come… it will be more important than ever that we all stand together and face what comes side by side" began Marc

"I know and it's true, but I'm still afraid all the same. I fear we are going to fail everyone in the end and then all of this will have been for nothing" interrupted Shepard

Marc then did something he probably wouldn't have done in normal circumstances, he reached over and took Shepard's hand in his own and gave it an assuring squeeze.

"Don't be afraid Sarah; you have a strong team made up of loyal friends and comrades who will follow you into the mouth of hell if that is where we are going. We all care for you in our own way and we will never waver from your side, so don't ever fear that we will fail simply trust in that we will be by your side to ensure we won't" finished Marc with a gentle smile

Shepard squeezed back and returned the smile "Thank you Marc…" her warm smile then turned a little mischievous "you know that almost sounded Romantic for a second" she joked

Marc snorted before laughing, Romantic? Him? Yeah that would be the day hell froze over and heaven burst into flames. When he had finally calmed down he stood up and helped Shepard stand as well and they began their walk back towards the Normandy, still holding their hands tightly.

The walk to the Normandy was spent in comfortable silence and both of them had maintained something akin to serene smiles the entire way. They stopped right outside the boarding tube as Shepard stopped walking and turned to face Marc and then she leaned up and planted a lingering kiss on his cheek

"Thank you for a wonderful time Marc, it was nice to get to do this once before everything blows up in our faces" said Shepard with a smile

Marc was a little surprised by the kiss and very confused at his enjoyment of the feeling of it.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation it was indeed a good time. Should we ever have the time perhaps we could repeat the evening?" the words had left Marc's mouth before he had thought it over, but any doubts he had about the statement vanished when Shepard's smile grew

"I would like that very much" was her almost silent reply.

They then walked into the ship side by side and together they made their way towards the crew deck where they split as Marc was heading down to his ship to relax.

Down in his ship Marc quickly stripped out of his tuxedo and put it away for future use and then stepped into the shower to rinse off before he finally lay down in his bed and thought the night over. It had been a good time much to his own surprise and it surprised him how easy Shepard was to talk to. Right before sleep claimed him Marc got a small smile on his lips as he thought perhaps it was indeed time to move on…

* * *

When Marc finally opened his eyes again he didn't feel as tired as he thought he would, actually he felt way better than he should have because according to his internal clock he has only been asleep for two hours. Upon further inspection of the surroundings which turned out to be nothing but white, white and more white as far as the eye could see, hell if Marc looked down he wasn't sure whatever he was sitting on a flat surface or actually floating. After standing up and dusting off he tried to take a few steps forward only to feel like he didn't move an inch… this was troublesome.

"Are you still trying to apply logic to places where logic isn't to be found?" asked a voice from behind him

Marc froze on the spot as the voice reached his ears and registered in his brain… '_It can't be…'_

"Well are you going to turn around and let me look at you or not?" asked the voice in a teasing tone

Something wet began sliding down Marc's cheek and when he reached for it he found it originated from his eye… he was crying. With shaky steps he turned his body around slowly, as if he moved to fast the voice might disappear. When he was finally facing the voice his eyes instantly found a golden pair of irises and his legs buckled under him.

The owner of the voice put her hands on her hips and looked at the downed hybrid with ridicule in her eyes

"For god's sake stand up and come over here you crazy excuse for a husband" teased the woman again while opening her arms with a wide loving smile.

His legs obeyed the command before his mind had registered it and carried him with large steps until he had both his arms around the slender and pale body of his beloved wife, his own shoulders were shaking from the sobs that kept him from talking. When the hug was returned that was all his mind could take and his legs gave out again but this time he pulled his wife down with him.

"Eee! Marc don't scare me like that!" scolded the woman

When Marc didn't reply and just kept crying into his wife's shoulder she knew that her death must truly have shaken him a lot harder than she previously thought, she knew the cure for that. In one swift motion the woman had her husband's head in her hands and smashed her lips onto his. It was as if reality had finally caught up with him as his lips met those of his wife he finally found his voice

"Sivra… but how, I saw you die I couldn't save you… I couldn't…" whatever Marc had intended to say it was cut of harshly when Sivra squeezed his face between her hands

"Don't you dare say it was your fault! Don't you even think about shouldering all the blame for my foolishness!" yelled Sivra now with tears of her own running down her pale cheeks

Marc just stared into her golden eyes and nodded despite not believing it, some part of him would always feel that he was to blame for her death. Sivra just gave a light peck to her husband's lips which seemed to bring his focus around a little more.

"You about ready to listen to me now?" asked Sivra

A smile danced across Marc's lips, perhaps the first real heartfelt smile he had worn since her death "When was I ever given a choice in that matter?" teased Marc

Sivra just slapped his arm in mock offence "Why I have never!" began Sivra while huffing before shortly after collapsing into a fit of giggles which quickly turned into quiet sobs "I missed you so much…"

Marc just held her even tighter "I missed you too. You have no idea what your death did to me…"

"779 souls…" replied Sivra which caused Marc to stiffen and hold her even tighter "When your time arrives my love you will have a lot to answer for, but I will stand at your side through it all"

"I would have it no other way…" commented Marc

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence and yet to Sivra her husband seemed incredibly silent, she suspected something was on his mind

"I don't suppose _she_ is here as well?" asked Marc

Sivra just smiled warmly down at her husband "You mean our little girl?" Marc nodded "She is not with me, not here. But when your time is up and you come here she will be standing by my side, waiting for her father"

This almost cracked Marc once more but he simply nodded and his smile grew warm and loving once more.

"Now for the reason I went out of my way to come here" began Sivra

The warm smile suddenly turned mischievous as the fun loving boy Marc used to be was finally allowed to come to the surface now that his wife was in his arms once again.

"What?! You mean you didn't just come here for my good looks? My love, I am insulted" interrupted Marc which earned him another slap this time over the head

"Love, keep quiet or I will castrate you" Marc gave a silent gulp and kept his trap shut, that wasn't the first time that threat had been made… he still wasn't risking it "Good boy. Now my reason for being here is awfully simple, I am here to ensure that you get on with your life and find someone else to spend the remainder of your life with" said Sivra

Marc just looked at his wife with his face all scrunched up, she couldn't mean that could she?

"You know I won't love anyone but you, I refuse to" stated Marc with conviction

Sivra ran her hands through her love's hair before answering "You will need the love and support in the times to come, and I happen to know you are a little partial to a certain raven haired Commander" said Sivra in a teasing tone

Marc sat there staring for a good few minutes before something akin to a revelation raced across his eyes and Sivra began to snicker "You didn't realize did you?" asked Sivra

Marc shook his head a few times, attempting to clear it "I haven't dealt with the emotion of love since you died so do cut me some slack here…"

Sivra's snickers became full on laughter at her husband's whiny tone. When she finally managed to regain some sense of control she resumed "I find it comforting that I left a strong enough impression for you to not even realize you have become interested in another woman" Sivra smiled as she said that

"Yes well… I don't know okay? I am still having difficulties seeing why you want me to fall for someone new, I mean when I die what happens if have indeed fallen in love with Shepard and perhaps even had kids with her? Not that I think I can since it will probably be like us all over again…" commented Marc

Sivra smacked her husband over the head once again "Need I remind you that you have your ship with you, and on said ship is an emergency storage of Nanites that I am quite sure Eva is fully capable of programming hmm, mister senior engineer and co-inventor of that stupid Alpha-Frame?"

Marc blinked a few times before it dawned on him "You want to program the nanites to protect the fetus? Or attempt to at least? But I thought that didn't work, or we would have done it with you" asked Marc now a little confused

"Need I also remind you that our child would have been only a quarter Human, and the human DNA was what caused the trouble, you know that one type of DNA our nanites were never programmed to deal with? Hell, just program the nanites to protect and restrain any Tenno DNA to the fetus and there you go! It wouldn't have worked for me since we discovered it too late but with her you can simply check once a month to be sure" said Sivra

Marc just gave a wide smile before kissing her "You know I knew there was a reason I married one of the senior medical staff"

"What? You didn't marry me for my astonishingly good looks?" asked Sivra again with mock offence

"Yes sweetie your rather shapely behind was also a big reason I asked you to marry me" came Marc's snarky reply

"Are you saying I have a big ass?" threatened Sivra

"Do I look like I have a death wish?" replied Marc

"You sure you want that answered?" countered Sivra

"…no" mumbled Marc conceding to defeat

"As for your earlier question with what will happen once you die" Marc's attitude changed back to serious mode almost instantly "Well… we are going to be cheating a little. You are a hybrid are you not, meaning half of you is human and half Tenno?" Marc nodded "Then I will take the Tenno half and your Commander can get the human half" said Sivra with a goofy grin

Marc looked at his wife with a bit of a curious expression "Let me see if I get this straight, you want me to go and fall in love, potentially have kids and then when I die you just _assume_ that my soul will be split in two and then you will snatch the Tenno half and hand over the human half to Shepard?"

"Did I give you a choice in the matter?" asked Sivra

"As per usual, no" replied Marc

Another smack "Yes well that is how it's going to be so learn to live with it will you? And for heaven's sake stop blaming yourself so much for my death!" half-yelled Sivra

"Of course dear" said Marc in his best "whipped husband" tone, never mind the fact he was about as whipped as one could be… "Don't expect me to go around changing how I behave though, that is too heavily engraved for me to change on the flip of a dime"

"Well alright, now I haven't exactly watched everything so do tell me about your life since I died" ordered Sivra

And so the pair of lovers spoke for what seemed like endless hours about everything Marc had done since her death. Marc overcame a lot of demons during that talk and once he had spoken his fill he felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Sivra had even managed to give him some pointers towards his little anger episode problem. Though he had his doubts he would succeed in putting it into practice anytime soon, but hopefully he could do it before the side effects killed him.

When the endless white room they had been in began growing brighter it caused a sad smile to appear on Sivra's face as she gave one last kiss to her husband

"It seems our time is done, you couldn't be asleep forever after all" a few tears fell as she said this

"I won't be seeing you again until my time comes are I?" asked Marc

"No you won't, but I will be waiting for you at the end as will our little girl. Now go and live a happy life, you have to live for both of us" said Sivra with a big smile

Marc nodded as the brightness in the room consumed them and soon the light was overcome with darkness. When Marc sat up in his bed he could still feel the trail that the tears had left and he got a sad smile on his face, it however quickly turned around as he felt like his very reason for living had been returned to him, yes he was going to move on but a part of his heart would always belong to Sivra.

He really wasn't lying when he said he couldn't change his behavior so easily, but he was going to try. He then turned and gazed out through the window and into the dark. He now knew what awaited him at the very end, but now, now he was going to make sure the journey there was one for the history books.

**A/N: Yes well, done for chapter 9 folks. I will let you choose yourself whatever you think this last sequence was truly just a dream for Marc, or if he truly was visited by the soul of Sivra, I know what I personally have chosen but I feel like this is one of those things you need to choose for yourself. A lot of character interaction in this chapter, in fact that was the only thing we got around to in this chapter… well next time we are heading off towards Feros and I can promise you now that I am "finally" going to be using a different Warframe than the Excalibur. **

**Have a good one  
\- Bundlejumper **


	10. Chapter 10

Shepard awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. Not something she is used to as she always awoke before it. A groan and a well-placed slap later and silence returned to her room. Despite a rather sound night worth of sleep Shepard still felt quite spent. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she stood up in one swift motion and stretched. A glance here and there revealed her dress from the previous night lying on the floor in a heap, her shoes right next to it. Looking down Shepard saw she was at least somewhat dressed.

'_At least I kept the panties on'_ thought Shepard with a smile. She would usually sleep in a set of pajamas that could be mistaken for her officer's uniform, only silkier. For her to have simply discarded her dress and fallen into bed she must have been really tired. A towel was grabbed from the closet and thrown at the foot of the bed while a fresh set of clothes was placed carefully on the bed. Her last article of clothing was thrown into the laundry basket as she passed it and into the bathroom.

She gave the water a few seconds to heat while she looked into the mirror. She looked tired, a lot more than she should. Shaking her head and passing it off as not enough sleep she stepped into the shower and sighed in content as the water cascaded over her body. The entirety of yesterday evening was replayed while the water loosened her tired muscles.

It had been pleasant, she had enjoyed the dinner and dance. Marc was a decent conversationalist but always seemed slightly distant regardless of the topic. Shepard didn't take any note of it since she was slightly guarded about certain topics as well. It had… surprised her, when they had taken that walk down through the gardens. She didn't expect Marc to enjoy that sort of thing but he had held a rather pleasant smile the entire time.

Their little talk also brought a warm smile to her face. He had in essence told her that her entire crew, himself included, cared enough for her that they would happily die for her should it come to it. Shepard doubted him on that but it still made her happy that he believed it that strongly. Once the last of the soap had been rinsed from her hair she shut off the water and stood silently for a few seconds. She wasn't sure if something was developing between herself and Marc but she felt it was worth looking into.

Once her body had been dried she tossed the now wet towel into the laundry basket along with her other clothes. A few short moments later saw her dressed in the same casual uniform most the crew wore, she didn't like wearing her officer's uniform unless it became strictly necessary. Adding the last detail of tying her hair up into her known pony-tail Shepard smiled to her reflection and stepped out of her quarters to begin the day.

Grabbing a tray and some of that mornings food Shepard quickly agreed with herself that perhaps soon it was time to get the cook some better ingredients, even if she had to pay for them. Sitting down at her preferred table Shepard began eating and felt her energy going back up. A small clank announced the arrival of Ashley as she sat down with a muffled "g'morning ma'am" Shepard lifted her head and smiled at the gunnery chief

"Morning Ash, how did you spend your day yesterday?" asked Shepard

Ashley lifted her head with a smile of her own "Well… Garrus, Liara and I went around to a few different weapon shops and found some interesting things, not much we could afford but it gave ideas for the future. We didn't manage to find a weapon that would suit Liara but that we can always return to. Then we split up as Garrus had to go catch up with some C-Sec buddies, so me and Liara went out and found a place to eat dinner" replied Ashley

"You and Liara are certainly growing close fast huh? What gives Williams I thought you weren't that into aliens" teased Shepard

Ashley felt her cheeks heat up slightly but shrugged it off "She is good company, and let us just say that recently someone helped me open my eyes to my own stupidity"

"Well I hope you thanked that person because he did you a favor" commented Shepard with a knowing grin

"I did ma'am. Now what is this I hear about you going out on a date with mister tall, pale and deadly?" asked Ashley with a glint in her eye

"We went out and ate a nice dinner, that's all there is too it Williams" replied Shepard with a smile

"Bullshit ma'am, from what the others told me you were gone for quite a long time. Way longer than just grabbing a bite to eat, and you were all dressed up too" Ashley got a glint of remembrance in her eyes for a second "You might also want to go talk to Harrison ma'am, he has a few pictures you might not want distributed" commented Ashley

"I will make a point to do that Williams, thank you" Ashley nodded "And we might have eaten at one of the most high end restaurants in the Presidium, at the Consorts private table. Then we might have spent a while dancing before taking a late night walk around the gardens of the presidium before returning to the ship" said Shepard with a half smug, half teasing grin

Ashley sat stock still and stared at her Commander, besides sounding like an extremely pleasant evening it also raised quite a few questions, for example

"How did you afford it? More so how did you get a table, the Consort's _personal_ table no less?" asked Ashley bewildered

"Turns out Marc have a few connections on the Citadel, the Consort being one of them. Once he mentioned that he would be eating with me she apparently insisted that we borrow the table, oh and Marc paid for the meal turns out credits isn't exactly a worry for him" replied Shepard smile still in place as she reached for her drink

"Unbelievable… next you are going to tell me he is the Shadow Broker as well" joked Ashley

Shepard coughed as her drink went down wrong. She kept staring at Ashley with a shaky look. Ashley of course didn't miss it and her eyes widened until they seemed ready to pop out of her head

"You have to be joking?" she asked

A few moments later when Shepard had collected herself she shook her head at Ashley "No he isn't the Shadow Broker, he did however mention to me that the Shadow Broker hands him information when he requests it" replied Shepard

"… just like that?" returned Ashley

"Something about if the Shadow Broker didn't help him he would tear down his entire network before killing the Broker himself" half mumbled Shepard

Ashley gently put her cutlery down before she folded her hands in front of her face and let out and loud sigh accompanied by a gentle head shake.

"You know what? I don't want to know what else you talked about on that date; I don't want to hear anything else about Echo from anyone but him… I don't think my heart could handle the surprises" mumbled Ashley which began Shepard snickering.

* * *

"… you are one hundred percent sure of this Eva?"

The question was asked by a tired hybrid that was currently in his bed, attempting to process what he had just been told.

"_I am sure. There is no doubt that a man named Hayden Tenno lived sometime during the 2000 era. His death is not recorded but all records of him disappear somewhere around 2034. He is listed as having descendants but that is all, no names or dates of those decedents. There is also no mention of a spouse at any point in his life"_

Marc sat up in his bed and turned just enough so he could lean up against the wall. A few thoughts passed through his mind but none of them made any larger amount of sense. In the end he turned towards Eva's little shiny green light and sighed

"So we have a confirmation then. Hayden Tenno exists in this world as well, something however derailed the events of Dark Sector and the Technocyte Virus never spread. Any files on that Eva?"

"_No, I checked through the entirety of the Alliance Database. The closest I came to any information is a reference to a file in the physical archive on earth" _

Marc nodded before stepping out of bed and stretching "Eva, open a com-link to Karick if you can"

Minutes passed by with Eva trying to establish a connection. Marc had almost given up and resigned to sending a message when a voice echoed across the Shadow

"_Who is it_" asked Karick's voice

"It's me old friend, I have some information for you" replied Marc

"_Already? I sent you off yesterday_" said Karick

"Indeed you did, but during my dinner with Shepard she mentioned something about Hayden Tenno" said Marc

There was a rather loud silence as Marc heard the sound of something hitting a cushion on the other side of the com.

"_What did you find out?_" came the shaky voice of Karick

"He existed in this world as well. How much do you know of the original circumstances in regards to Hayden?" asked Marc

"_That is a story for another time, safe to say I know enough_" replied Karick

"Good. According to the data that Eva pulled up he was alive somewhere between 2000 to 2038 where his record disappears. He is listed as having offspring but has no spouse listed. The closest thing Eva could come to any other information was a reference to some physical files in the archives on earth" said Marc

"_And we can't get to these physical files I take it?" _asked Karick

"I don't recommend it. During the games you don't exactly visit earth until the last one, and even there you are only on earth for the very start and very end of the game itself. I imagine the archive itself will be heavily guarded, if the information on Hayden is meant to be kept so secret that they won't even put it in digital form then I don't think we are going to like what we find" replied Marc

"_I agree. However I believe we should both look out for a chance to have a look at these files, the Hayden Tenno from our world did a great many things but he also had his share of secrets that he kept. For our sake my friend, I hope his biggest one isn't in those files_" said Karick with a somber voice

"If it makes you worry, my friend then I will agree" commented Marc

"_Yes well… thank you for the information. Contact me when you have more news_" said Karick

"I will" replied Marc as he cut the com

'_His biggest secret? Why do I have a feeling that I won't like it when I learn it'_ thought Marc as he leaned further back in his chair. The man he was thinking about is the closest thing to a god the Tenno have, but he was just as mortal as they were.

"Eva, can you try and locate Hayden Tenno's gravesite for me?" asked Marc

"_Commencing Search…"_ was Eva's automatic reply

With a shake of the head he rose and decided to go work on Shepard's blade. That at the very least should help keep his mind of impending doom, if only for the hour. Once seated at his work table he brought out his plans and blueprints for Shepards blade. He had decided that he wasn't going to make it fancy or try and modify it in any way. The blade would be Tenno Steel, what little he had left anyway. The handle would be connected to the blade and the guard that separated them would be made out Blasted Steel. Blasted Steel is a special variant of regular Steel that has been treated in a very special way to make it on the sturdiest materials to exist. The only problem with the material was that once you had heated it up and shaped it, if you then let it cool down it would never heat up again, leaving it stuck in the form it cooled from.

"_Marc?"_ Eva's voice echoed inside the Engineering Bay

"Yes Eva?" was Marc's reply

"_I have a… concern"_ said Eva

"Voice it then" muttered Marc focused on his work

"_I believe that before your mission is over you will have resorted to engaging the Prime Protocol on the Alpha Frame"_ Eva's voice actually sounded slightly concerned

Marc stilled at her words. He gently placed his plans and tools down on his table before sitting upright and seemed to almost stare through the wall towards Eva's little green orb.

"Why do you fear this Eva?" asked Marc

"_From the missions you have undertaken so far you have been underplaying the extensive use of the Alpha Frame. Each mission has seen you return with an almost empty Energy reserve if not empty. I fear that on one mission you will as a last effort activate the Prime Protocol and risk your life in the process"_ said Eva in the same tone as before

An old and tired smile crept onto Marc's face "I very much doubt it Eva. The Prime Protocol was an emergency tool installed in the very last stages of the Alpha Frames development. Activating it carries great risk indeed… let us pray that I will never be pushed that far"

"_That does not reduce my concern. Will you… will you promise me that you won't activate the Prime Protocol unless it is truly the very last option open to you?"_ pleaded Eva

The smile Marc held turned warm and caring "I promise you Eva that it will be my _very_ last choice"

"_Thank you Marc"_ replied Eva before turning herself off

Marc shook his head at her; it surprised him that she was capable of being worried but it also made him happy. With the Prime Protocol stuck in his mind he couldn't focus on his work any longer. A shrug and short thought later saw Marc moving out of his ship and down towards Engineering, perhaps it was time to speak a little with Tali

* * *

**29 Hours Later, Approaching Feros**

"Okay everyone, our objective is simple. We arrive at Zhu's Hope and will begin our investigation on why Saren sent his Geth to attack it. The hope is to find whatever it was he was after" Shepard's stern voice carried out over her gathered team.

Garrus, Ashley, Liara and Marc all nodded in consent. They were mere minutes away from docking at Zhu's Hope and of all the ground team Marc was the only one to have heavy doubts about the mission itself. He knew that the Thorian was directly under Zhu's Hope but he couldn't find a way to alert his team about it without giving too much away.

The docking process finished and the team stepped into decontamination and waited for the outer doors to open. Once they had gotten outside Marc looked over towards the stairs leading into the colony, this place was filled with small corridors and tight space fighting. _'Engage Warframe: Volt'_ the command passed from Marc's brain and into the receiver and the change began, the plates moved and readjusted to fit their new configuration. The minimized tech around the suit turned on or off depending on their need and soon a fully operational Volt was ready.

"New one for this huh?" asked Shepard with humor

"Indeed" nodded Marc

Marc went through a few motions with his arms to test that the joints had adjust properly. Happy with the end result he turned towards the platform leading towards the colony and his eyes landed on the strange man that ends up getting killed by a Geth.

Leaning slightly to the left he caught sight of the Geth standing at the end of the railing. Two swift steps found him in front of the greeter, a quick grab and pull found the same man unconscious from his head hitting the ground too hard.

"Geth!" yelled Marc

As soon as word left his mouth Marc lifted his Nikana up and used the scabbard to deflect three bullets and dive into cover. Everyone else followed suit and dived for cover and began firing at the Geth. Marc had swapped over to his Vasto pistol and only went out to take pot shots.

A loud bang echoed around them as Garrus sniper shot true and a Geth hit the ground with a hole in through the flashlight. Another two Geth was taken out when Liara managed to strike both with two quick biotic lifts in succession; this left them as easy targets for Ashley and Shepard. Two Geth remained; one was destroyed when Liara pulled it over the edge with her biotics. The last one was taken out by Marc whom had snuck up towards the geth while the others provided covering fire; he quickly came within range of the Geth. The Nikana flew through the air and made clean contact with the metal of the Geth, the same metal soon gave into the sheer force behind the blow, torso and bottom was separated and the fight was over.

Everyone gathered back at the unconscious guy whom Marc had knocked out earlier by throwing with him. It took a few minutes but he awoke and quickly regained his bearings. Luckily a minor headache was all he had to show for the fall.

"Are you alright?" asked Ashley

"Yes I am fine" answered the man

"Why were you down here anyway?" asked Garrus

"Fai-Dan sent me here to greet you, he wants to see you as soon as you get to the colony" replied the man

"Alright, you stay here and relax for a few moments while we see if there is more Geth ahead" said Shepard

The man nodded and the team all began making their way towards the stairs. The first bit held no problems but once they turned the third corner a sound alerted them to something above them. Up above was three Geth Stalkers sitting on the walls. They were awfully close, a thing that didn't pass Marc by. As everyone raised their weapons in preparation for the fight, but Marc only leveled his hand at the Geth and lifted his palm so it pointed towards the nearest Geth Stalker.

A bolt of lightning shot forward from his hand and made quick contact with its target. Like with a real lightning bolt the sound didn't arrive before a second later, but the thundering noise it created was enough to make Garrus vision blur as his enhanced hearing took the brunt of it. A sizzling noise was heard as the Geth Stalker cooked and then without warning the bolt of lightning jumped to its next target. From there it cooked another Geth Stalker before it made its final leap and roasted the last Stalker.

A low whistle came from more than one of the other people present "That was… interesting… Why didn't you use that back on Therum? Would have helped a lot" it was Shepard who spoke first

"The Volt is useful in closed off spaces since it usually guarantees that your targets are standing close together, thus ensuring the lightning can jump freely between targets. It is also in closed quarters that most of the Volt's abilities are most efficient, the only problem is that the Volt is not as durable as the Excalibur is used on Therum" was Marc's explanation

"Oh… so that armor of yours becomes stronger or weaker depending on the form? Isn't it the same material taking a different shape?" asked Shepard a little confused

"In a sense, yes. But each Warframe also has its own components and particular quirks that require it to be of certain strength. The Volt is among the weakest of Warframes and cannot withstand much punishment; in turn it can however inflict horrible damage to anything caught by its lightning"

"Useful" was Shepards only comment

She received a nod in response before everyone began walking up the stairs once more. Once at the end they came to the entrance of the colony, the place looked just as dreary as Marc remembered. They had barely taken two steps forward before every single health alarm that was inside Marc's suit went off like New Year's Eve. Without showing any outward signs of distress he signaled to Shepard with his hand that they needed to move backwards, back into the stairwell.

The entire group made a u turn and soon found them back halfway down the stairwell. Everyone had a curious glance on their faces except for Shepard whose was one of worry. Had anyone been able to see Marc's face they would have seen the now very clear anger.

"Okay we made it back down here Echo. Why did you signal for that retreat?" asked Shepard

A low hissing sound was heard as Echo's mask opened at the back and slowly began retreating into what seemed to be his spinal area. When his entire pale face was revealed it took everyone present by surprise. His face seemed calm and collected and yet if you looked into his eyes there was nothing but a blazing inferno.

"As soon as we stepped into that colony every single health alarm in my suit went off. Something is in the air inside the colony and whatever it is, Eva deemed it dangerous enough even for me to demand a complete sealing of my suit" came Echo's dark reply

"What did you find?" asked Shepard in a stern tone

A few moments passed by as it seemed like Echo was getting information directly downloaded into his brain. In truth he was simply recalling everything he knew about the Thorian.

"The spores in the air, when inhaled, will slowly take over the mind of the inhaler. Continued exposure will eventually turn you into a slave. The only being in known existence to be able to release these spores is a large sentient plant known as the Thorian" explained Echo

"Thorian? What's a Thorian?" asked Ashley

Echo leveled his stare at her and kept it there until she seemed to shrink down a little and muttered "sorry" for her interruption. It did amuse Echo slightly how easily she seemed to cower under his stare but it didn't surprise him really, he did have almost 300 years to perfect it.

"Thorian; A living sentient plant, its size is unknown due to various amounts of time it could have had to grow" began Echo "Known Thorians in existence; 3, not counting the possibility of one being here. A Thorian will release spores into its surroundings that once you have inhaled them over a specific amount of time will render you under the Thorians control, it is not always distinguishable that someone is under the control of a Thorian as it all depends on the level of control. A fully controlled individual will seem closer to a zombie and will have difficulties holding a conversation. A lesser controlled individual can still pass as a regular person and is to be watched extra carefully as the Thorian could potentially order them to take you out. A Thorian is fully capable of distinguishing threats to itself or its surroundings. A Warning, a Thorian that has reached its maturity can absorb an individual and create flesh/plant clone hybrids that inherit the traits of the original, this includes Biotic powers"

Now most of that was complete bullshit and had no basis besides Marc thinking it worked in his favor, he couldn't really say that there was only one Thorian in existence and it was below Zhu's Hope and then just hope that no one would question how he knew. No with the small added details the lie joined with the truth made up for decent fake information.

Garrus had moved over and was now standing up against the wall with wide eyes and a look of utter disbelief on his face. Liara looked intrigued and perhaps a slight bit worried, Ashley was right there next to her looking completely speechless. Shepard was staring at Echo with a hard gaze that spoke volumes about her displeasure over the information and her worry.

"So what you are saying is that there is a who knows how large sentient PLANT capable of MIND CONTROL somewhere in the vicinity of the colony?" asked Garrus clearly agitated

"That would be my best guess yes" replied Echo passively

"Anything we should majorly concerned about?" asked Shepard

"Not really, we won't be here long enough for the spores to take hold and even if the entire colony is under the Thorians control it would still matter little as the colonist are easily dealt with or knocked out. I would however search for the Thorians location should we get the chance, that thing needs to die as soon as possible" replied Echo

"You seem to have a bone to pick with that plant" commented Ashley with curious glance

When Echo leveled his stare at her again Ashley had to suppress a shudder, there was a cold fire raging in those blue eyes and she wasn't sure she wanted to know just why it was there.

"Let's say this won't be my first run in with a Thorian. A warning though, a Thorian _will_ speak to us through a mind controlled subject or clone, when this happens don't mention anything it shouldn't know. I have seen firsthand what a mind controlled army can do with the right information" replied Echo in an almost dead tone

"Alright let's get moving again, we have to go see the colony leader" ordered Shepard

Everyone nodded and followed her as she headed back towards the entrance to the colony. Once they had passed the threshold once more Echo's alarms flared again but he quickly shut them down. Everyone was on edge as they each took in the various people they came into contact with, looking for signs of spore infestation. Echo did point out a few people to Shepard that they should keep a close eye on since they looked to be a little too far off into their own worlds to be completely in control.

Once they had passed through the colony they saw Fai-Dan off in the distance, or at least Echo did as he was the only one who knew what Fai-Dan actually looked like. The mentioned man was currently in an animated discussion with Arcelia. As they approached it was easy enough to figure out they were debating whatever or not it was worth having Commander Shepard around to help them. In Echo's mind it as a pointless debate. When Fai-Dan saw them approach he smiled thankfully

"Ah Commander Shepard thank god you are finally here, I don't know how much longer we would have survived" said Fai Dan

Shaking the man's hand, Shepard gave a smile of her own "Sorry we couldn't get here earlier. What is the situation?" asked Shepard

"Not good commander the Geth seem to be coming out of the tower whenever we have just recovered from the latest attack and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to find a reason for them to attack us" replied Fai Dan

'_Because Saren want's the Thorian below your colony to be killed before it can give the Cipher to Shepard'_ commented Echo in his mind as he saw the first Geth emerge from the tower up ahead. Not bother with alerting anyone he withdrew his Vasto and fired off two shots that impacted the Geth's shields and pierced through, destroying its head.

Everyone seemed to scramble madly after those two shots rang out and everyone dived for cover and aimed the weapons towards the entrance to the tower. Soon enough two Geth became visible and began firing into the colony. The only one who wasn't moving was Echo as he stood his ground and waited for everyone to gun them down. A loud bang sounded as Garrus dropped one and a rather sickening crunch was heard as Liara lifted the other Geth up into the frame of the tower smashing its exposed back.

The sound of retreating Geth became apparent from the stairs and everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief except for the Normandy ground team.

"Three Geth and they retreat?" piped Ashley

"They just registered the presence of four heavily armed individuals which is known to have interrupted their mission on Therum as well as recognizing the Commander from Eden Prime. They retreated because they realized that fighting us while coming through that doorway won't win them any battles" replied Echo

"Do you think they will return?" Asked Shepard

"Not until we leave the colony. Until then they will most likely await further instructions" answered Echo

"So do we go after them or what?" asked Garrus from his sitting place on a crate

"For now we better clear the tower of any remaining Geth that at least should buy some more time" replied Shepard

Garrus stood up from his crate and smiled as he drew his sniper again. Ashley had never put her rifle away so she was ready to move out and Liara had already proven she really didn't need a weapon to be lethal. Everyone followed Shepard into the tower and began their ascension which wasn't met with any resistance until they reached a rather long corridor.

They took two steps out before they came under fire from Geth, everyone ducked back into the stairwell except for Echo who had a mad smile on his face as he stared down the gunfire. Clapping his hands together Echo began gathering energy in the center of his hands and waited for a few moments until it reached a sufficient point. In one grand gesture he separated his arms and held them outstretched towards the walls which caused a shimmering shield of electric energy to erupt in front of him.

"Get out here and shoot them while I hold the shield, go!" yelled Echo

Trusting their comrade everyone came back out of the staircase and began shooting through the shield, no one noticed how a minor amount of electricity was sticking to each bullet as it passed through the shield. Everyone did however notice said bullets slam into the Geth sending violent sparks flying everywhere. It was equally so a wonder to witness the Geth's bullets impact the shield and then seemingly vanish, the few that made it through dropped to the floor on the opposite side of the shield.

With one last shot Shepard destroyed the final Geth, in response Echo dropped his shield and looked at the HUD inside his helmet, he was down to 25% energy after that little shield stunt he needed to be more careful with his energy use for the rest of the mission.

"You know I feel inclined to ask you if you wouldn't happen to have the last four elements in your arsenal as well" joked Ashley

"Counting this one I have Lightning, Fire, Wind and Water in various Warframes but I don't have one that controls earth" replied Echo with a smirk under his helmet

One couldn't be faulted for thinking they heard a cricket chirp with the silence that was hanging in the air. It started as a snicker, then it turned louder and louder until a loud burst of laughter broke that silence as Shepard couldn't keep a straight face any longer. Garrus gave a low chuckle as he was familiar with the human ideology of the five elements. Poor Liara was looking so incredibly confused; she knew what those five elements were but completely missed the joke. Ashley huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest

"Well it isn't funny when can actually answer to the joke…" she muttered

"And here I thought it would have been quite obvious that I most likely would have had the other elements under my control, perhaps I wasn't obvious enough?" quipped Echo

"When are you ever obvious?" asked Garrus to himself more so than anyone else

Echo gave a shrug in response. When Shepard finally got herself back under control she quickly directed everyone through the last bit of the tower, they managed to find a rather large contingent of Geth that was dealt with rather quickly due to Liara managing to land a rather quick singularity in their midst allowing the team to blast them all to hell before they reacted.

The sound of multiple clamps releasing could be heard and soon enough they saw a Geth dropship depart from the tower. Everyone gave a sigh of relief as that should at least stunt the amount of attacks on Zhu's Hope. On the way back Echo kept glancing towards the stairs and upper parts of the tower… it might have been over 300 years ago but one particular insanity play through made him eternally paranoid towards Geth Stalkers, real or otherwise…

'_I have got to stop comparing this to the game before it comes back and bites me in the ass…'_ the thought had barely crossed Echo's mind before a small sound reached his ears from above and on pure reflex he drew his Vasto and planted three bullets into the flashlight of the Geth Stalker above them. It landed with a loud thump in front of Shepard who turned towards Echo with an amused grin

"A bit twitchy aren't you?" she said grinning

"Let's just say I had an unfortunate run in with those in the past…" was Echo's cryptic answer

Shepard shrugged it off with a smile and led them all down through the last bit of the tower an out into the colony once more where Fai Dan was currently talking to one of the colonists. As they approached bits of the conversation became audible, mostly the part about them soon running out of food. _'Shepard is without a doubt going to help these people… I guess that means a little trip down into the tunnels for us… hurray'_

As the team got closer they were eventually seen by Fai Dan who turned to them with a smile

"I take it the tower is now secure commander?" asked Fai Dan to which Shepard gave a nod "Thank you hopefully that will keep them off for a while"

"Not for long, they will be back they always come back…" muttered Arcelia from his side

"Don't mention it, now we just need to find out what they are after and then perhaps we can ensure you all stay safe" said Shepard with a smile

Fai Dan twitched ever so slightly which wasn't missed by Echo "We sadly don't know what they are after but their main headquarters are in the Exo-Geni tower that would be the best place to start looking" said Fai Dan

Shepard gave a nod "Sounds good to me. What was that we heard before about you running out of food?"

Fai Dan gave a small sigh as he ran his hand through his very thin hair "We are running low on food supplies and we could supplement it with Varren meat but we can't hunt them due to a large Alpha Varren down in the tunnels, if we could find a way to deal with that Alpha then we could hunt safely"

Shepard thought it over for a second before she turned to her team and looked at them. Garrus, Liara and Ashley all three nodded while Echo was shaking his head slightly. Not one to turn down helping someone else Shepard turned back around with a smile

"We could deal with that Varren for you if it helps your colony" said Shepard

A glimmer of hope came to Fai Dan's eyes as he looked at the Commander

"That would be amazing Commander" said Fai Dan

"Anything else while we are down there?" asked Shepard which caused Echo to groan in annoyance under his helmet

"Well… there is a set of Water valves down in the tunnels that supply us with fresh water but they have been turned off by the Geth, we are also in need of some new power cells but I have no idea where to get those" Fai Dan said a little snakingly

Shepard put a hand on his shoulder and grinned "Don't worry about it, we will keep an eye out while we are down there"

Fai Dan nodded and thanked the team before they set out towards the tunnels.

* * *

Inside the tunnels the team soon came upon the first water valve which Garrus activated and the team moved on until they encountered the first contingent of Geth inside the tunnels.

Everyone quickly dived for cover and began firing back. Ashley nailed one Geth in the throat making the thing collapse on itself. Liara used her Biotics to slam on into the wall… and then into another Geth sending them both over the railing. Shepard herself downed the last remaining geth with a few well-placed shots from her assault rifle.

"There are geth down in these tunnels? Fai Dan didn't mention that part" mumbled Ashley

"Be that as it may we might as well deal with them while we are down here" said Shepard

"I'm picking up a transmitter somewhere down here in the tunnels, I guess that is what is ensuring the geth keep attacking the colony" said Echo from the side

"Then let's get too it. Ash and Liara you two go see if you can deal with the Varren problem, Garrus and Echo you are with me to destroy that transmitter we will try and find the remaining water valves as well" ordered Shepard which caused a chorus of "Yes ma'am" from everyone but Echo who only nodded

They walked a little further forward until the path split and Echo directed Shepard and Garrus towards the transmitters signal while Liara and Ashley continued forward.

Shepard, Garrus and Echo came to a door and were stopped when Echo lifted his fist in a stop sign. He could feel two Krogan on the other side of the door, the odds of Geth being there were big.

Dropping his fist Echo slammed the door opening it and at the same time Shepard and Garrus ran inside with their guns blazing, catching the two Krogan off guard which allowed them a few good shots. Echo was the last one in as he drew his Nikana and went up close to the left Krogan slicing through his left leg before pivoting around his body and holding up using him to block the shotgun blast from the other Krogan.

The shotgun blast finished what Echo had started and soon enough the combined fire from Garrus and Shepard brought down the remaining Krogan and the three could see the transmitter standing at the end of the room.

"So this is what has been causing the colony so much trouble? Let's destroy the thing and go find Ash and Liara" said Shepard

Garrus nodded before approaching and planting an explosive on the side of it. The team of three left the room and Garrus pressed the detonator, causing the ground to shake slightly from the force of the blast. On their way to find their last two team mates they came across one more water valve.

The sound of gunfire became prominent and the three sped forward towards the sound. Echo already knew what they would be facing and upon entering the familiar room he instantly spun around to grab a Varren that had apparently been waiting to pounce on anything to come through the door.

While Echo was busy wrestling with the Varren Shepard and Garrus quickly found Ashley who was firing at and dodging the large amount of Varren that kept advancing on them. Liara was keeping most of them back with a few well-placed biotic throws but it was obvious she couldn't keep it up for much longer.

"Great timing skipper! We could really use a hand here!" yelled Ashley

Shepard and Garrus opened fire immediately and began clearing the Varren. Down on the floor Echo had finally managed to grab the Varren by its mouth and was in the rather gruesome process of ripping the poor animal apart.

It was as if all sound ceased when the sick sound of flesh and bone being ripped apart sounded around the room. Shepard spared the slight a glance and actually felt slightly sick at the sight of Echo's blood covered armor as he held the two pieces of varren in each of his hands.

A large roar sounded as the Alpha Varren finally joined the fray, fully intend on destroying what it perceived as the biggest threat. Namely the being that had just ripped apart its mate!

As if in a trance Echo dodged to the side of the leaping Varren and grabbed it by its hind legs, using his enhanced strength to swing the large Varren back around and over his head slamming it down into the ground stunning it long enough for Garrus to plant a bullet directly into one of its eyes, ending its life.

The rest of the Varren began dying off as they were assaulted from all sides and soon all there was left was a lot of silence. Shepard walked up to Echo who hadn't moved since he threw the Varren over his head and saw its eye explode along with its skull.

"You alright there Marc?" she asked

The sound of her voice shook Echo from his state and his helmet disengaged as he stared down into her green eyes. Shepard felt something run along her spine as their eyes locked and she had the sudden urge to lean forward ever so slightly. The moment however passed when Echo gave a weak smile

"Yeah I'm alright; getting jumped like that just brought back an unpleasant memory"

And it had, that wasn't the first time had had killed in that manner, one of his trips to one of the more forest filled planets had seen him fight off a beast that reminded him a lot of a large dog. He had lost both his weapons in the struggle and had to resort to ripping the poor animal apart… he had felt sick for about a week following the event.

While the two had been talking Garrus had been inspecting the broken Mako in the room and had reported with a smile that it still had a few functioning power cells that should keep the colony going for a little while.

The team left the room and managed to find the last water valve a little further ahead. One thing however was bugging Echo, where was the half crazy person you usually find standing around down here? He didn't like it when things deviated from his knowledge but by now he should have gotten used to it.

The team returned to the colony and headed straight for Fai Dan whom was standing in deep discussion with one of the other colonist about what sounded like lodging issues… well at least that is something Shepard _can't_ help them with.

"Fai Dan" called Shepard

The man in question turned and smiled as he excused himself from his debate and walked us in meeting

"Hello again Commander, I take it you were successful?" he asked

"We managed to kill the Alpha Varren and a lot of other smaller Varren; if you are quick you should be able to scavenge a great deal of meat before it goes bad. We also got the water back on as well as found a few power cells" said Shepard with a friendly smile

You could almost see a few years drop off Fai Dan along with most of his worries with the smile he had plastered on his face "Oh thank god. I can't thank you enough Commander, I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along"

"Don't mention it; I'm only happy to help. Now if you will have us excused we will be heading towards the Exo-Geni tower" said Shepard

Fai Dan nodded and directed us to the elevator in the tower that would take us up to the garage and informed us that there should be a functioning Mako there ready to leave. Shepard thanked him and lead her team towards the elevator.

Once in the garage the team did indeed find a Mako and after a quick once over by Garrus he deemed it ready for the short trip across the skyway, hopefully they wouldn't face anything major, though Echo knew that it was an exercise in futility to hope that.

The garage door opened to reveal a long line of Geth standing across the skyway. Garrus was sitting in the gunner seat and began mowing them down one by one as they progressed further and further ahead. About halfway across a giant wall shot up through the floor of the skyway forcing Shepard to slam the breaks

"What the hell?!" she yelled

Echo was much of the same mind, that wall _certainly_ wasn't there the last time he had played the games, so something was definitely wrong here.

"Anyone see a control tower?" asked Shepard

"There is an entrance into the skyway over there Shepard, I think that might be where the controls are" replied Garrus

"Alright, everyone out!" ordered Shepard

The team shuffled out of the Mako and approached the entrance, Echo peeked inside only to pull his head back with neck breaking speed when a sniper round impacted with his shield, depleting them.

"Snipers…" he muttered to the team.

Everyone got ready and soon enough the entire team ran inside and fired down the corridor, forcing the Geth to retreat into cover allowing the team time to do the same. Luckily due to their larger numbers the team quickly dealt with the two geth Snipers stationed to operate the wall outside. One fell to Garrus perfect aim while the other got blown apart by a grenade from Ashley.

The controls where in the middle of the corridor and if you looked out the window you were staring directly into the wall. Garrus began working on it while everyone kept themselves ready.

"Shepard" said Echo which caught her attention "I will go check ahead for a potential trap behind the wall when it drops"

Shepard nodded once "Alright. Ash stay here and guard Garrus, Liara you come back with me and get ready to enter the Mako"

Once more a chorus of "Yes ma'am" rang out as the team split in their respective directions. Shepard and Liara reached the exit around the same time as Echo reached his. On Echo's side there was thankfully no hidden Geth right behind the wall, he could however spy them further up the skyway so they would have to be ready for a fight instantly.

A loud hissing sound spread across the skyway as the wall dropped. Echo decided to simply run from his exit back to the Mako, hoping that it would draw the attention of the Geth ahead thus giving the team a little more time to get the Mako ready again.

He had barely taken a step out of the corridor before shots rang out from behind him. _'Fuck! How the hell did I forget the upper level?!"_ yelled Echo in his mind as he began running faster and faster towards the Mako while the Geth kept planting shots at his shield forcing him further and further towards the edge of the skyway.

The team had of course noticed the gunfire instantly and Shepard had ordered Garrus into the Mako and start shooting at any geth he could see. She herself was standing outside firing up at the Geth hoping to draw some of their fire from Echo. It didn't work however as the Geth kept firing after him and only one or two seemed to catch an interest in Shepard and began firing at her instead.

The geth kept firing and seemed almost intent on taking down Echo as if they had been ordered to do it. Echo wasn't surprised if that were the case, Saren always had information about what his geth did and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that some data about him had leaked back to him after the fights Echo had participated in. The team was trying to keep suppression fire going as to allow Echo to reach the Mako again but the geth were hiding behind their energy shields.

A loud whistle sound pierced Echo's ears and he recognized it instantly, he sped up as much as he possibly could but he wasn't moving fast enough. Looking up he could see them, two Armatures were dropping in and would block his approach to the Mako. At his current rate he wouldn't make it to the Mako before they landed… to hell with it all!

"Get in the Mako! We have Armatures incoming!" yelled Echo

Shepard was rooted to the spot and was staring at the running man. The whistling reached its apex and a monstrous crash was heard as the two Armatures impacted with the railway, the force of the blast knocked Shepard back into the Mako but not before she saw something that made her heart stop. Marc being blasted over the side…

"NO!" was all she managed to yell before the guns of the Mako drowned out any other sound. Still staring at the spot she had just seen him. She refused to move, she refused to believe that one of her crew was gone. Repressing the tears Shepard shook her head violently and jumped inside the Mako and jumped into the pilot seat

"Garrus destroy those things! Now!" yelled Shepard from the seat

Garrus obeyed and fired everything the Mako had towards the two Armatures which luckily was enough to get through the first ones shield and blow its head clean off. The others inside the Mako was looking with reservation at Shepard who had a fierce scowl in place

"Shepard, where is Echo?" asked Ashley

"Gone" was her short reply

Had Garrus not been busy ensuring they weren't blasted to pieces he would have been surprised but he would save it for later, right now it was about surviving. Liara on the other hand looked horrified at the thought of the loss of a comrade, sure she hadn't gotten to know Echo that well but she had hoped to. Ashley for her part was completely stunned, she had seen some of the shit Echo was capable of pulling so for her to hear that he was gone it almost seemed surreal to her.

As the second of the Armatures dropped Shepard hit the gas and sent the barreling towards the opposite tower. It surprised no one how she now seemed to be aiming at ramming as many Geth as she possibly could, and not even Garrus faulted her for it right now. Once they were inside the next tower they stopped at a small station that seemed to hold some survivors. Everyone stepped out except for Shepard who was sitting with an angry look on her face. To her it wasn't fair how he had been taken from her, she had only yesterday accepted with herself that they could potentially have something and now, now she would never get the chance to find out.

"Damn it all!" she yelled while slamming her hands down on the panel, cracking some of the softer areas.

* * *

**With Marc a few seconds after he fell**

When you are falling freely through the air and find yourself heading for certain death, most people would probably freak out and scream or something of that nature. For someone like Marc it was almost peaceful to look down at the seemingly endless amount of clouds hanging heavily above Feros. A chuckle escaped his lips as he realized that this was his end.

All the stupid shit he pulled over the years and the neck breaking stunts he performed while serving with the Tenno and now here he was, about to become a spot on the ground. His life didn't flash across his eyes like some would believe; no instead he took in the endless sky of Feros and decided that if he was going to die then he would at least have a nice view.

"_Marc… are you not going to attempt to break your fall?_" asked Eva

"I don't see the point; I don't have enough energy to do anything. I'm sorry that this is how it is going to end Eva but perhaps it is for the best" said Marc

"_I disagree, Marc. I have seen you survive much worse situations than this, I refuse to believe that you don't have some sort of plan to survive_" said Eva with conviction

Marc gave a low chuckle before answering "Oh I got a plan alright, question is whatever it is actually going to work. Tell me Eva, is the Zephyr operational?" asked Marc

"_The Zephyr is operational and ready. The transformation sequence is however not perfected and I cannot predict the outcome of attempting it_" replied Eva

"Heh… I guess now is the time to find out isn't it? Engage Warframe: Zephyr" said Marc into the air

As soon as the verbal command was spoken the frame began to shift and turn in every direction. The male version of the Zephyr was never located so Marc had worked with the rest of the Engineering department to come up with a suitable male design to work with the Alpha-Frame until a male Zephyr could be awoken. A loud crack rang out through the frame as Marc's left arm broke due to a set of transformation disks pushing his arm in two separate directions at once.

A few more painful moments followed as Marc felt various parts of his body get struck or crushed during the transformation. Luckily he came out of it all with only his left arm broken and a few crushed fingers on his right hand.

"Eva, charge up a Tail Wind. Pump as much energy as you can into it, forego the shields as well" ordered Marc

Eva did as instructed and began collecting the energy from every part of the Alpha-Frame and redirecting it towards the one final action that would hopefully save her operator and friend. Marc was looking down towards the ground and soon the ground became visible, or at least the Prothean ruins all around Feros came into vision. Twisting in midair until he was in a standing position Marc slowly prepared himself for the intense pain he would be feeling from the Tail wind braking his fall and causing his body to be put under imminence pressure.

A countdown was running on the inside of his HUD and as it struck '10' the ping that announced the Tail Wind being ready sounded and Marc smiled and spread his legs a little and angled his feet so he wouldn't get his legs ripped apart once the opposing force was expelled. The counter slowly began creeping down

6…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

'_Now!'_ yelled Marc inside his mind but nothing happened and he suddenly found himself being very still… so still in fact that he couldn't be moving and he certainly wasn't dead. Unless of course death was green and sphere shaped. Glancing around Marc found himself trapped inside a green sphere of energy that was scarcely reminiscent of the Green Biotics Javik throws around.

"This is… curious" said Marc to no one

"_Marc, what is happening?"_ asked Eva

"I rightly do not know. It's an energy field of some sort and it certainly managed to stop my decent, how it did so without making me feel any backlash I wish I knew" answered Marc in a curious tone

The sphere of energy that he found himself in suddenly began to slowly move towards the ground. When it was what seemed like a few meters above the ground the sphere began flickering before turning off, allowing Marc to land on his feet. A few curious looks around soon revealed the Prothean architecture all around him, only this looked thoroughly more damaged and _looted_ than the ruins on Ilos.

Just as he was about to touch one of the walls a little green orb flashed to life in front of him and began circling him, it emitted a soft light that seemed to run across his entire body which indicated he was being scanned. Soon enough the little orb began bouncing in the air a few times before moving a few meters away and the resumed its bouncing. Marc took this as a sign that he was meant to follow it, so he did.

The little green orb led him around for barely a few minutes before he arrived at a large building where the large door showed clear attempts of people trying to gain entry, it would seem they failed. The little green orb flew towards and then through the door which caused the entire structure to light up green. A loud hissing noise echoed throughout the empty ruins as the ancient doors unsealed and the dusty mechanism came to life once more.

The large door opened up to reveal a lit room with capsules lining the sides of it. Marc recognized it all easily enough, they were Prothean capsules which were supposed to have kept the Protheans alive throughout their extinction but it failed, just like the facility on Ilos. Walking up to one of the pods revealed a great many things, this one actually had a glass top revealing the Prothean inside. It was male and looked a lot like Javik except for a fuller face; the body was remarkably well maintained despite its age. Sadly there was no chance of anyone in here being alive; Marc felt no presence beyond his own inside this large place.

"_You have arrived"_ boomed a voice through the complex, making Marc jump a little as he turned towards its source.

A pillar, or rather a beacon, made its way up through the ground with a loud grinding noise. The entire thing lit up once it was completely out of the floor and soon enough a small green orb appeared in front of it and that little orb began grown and growing. Soon it had taken shape of a Prothean and Marc recognized it as being of the same type as Vendetta on Thessia.

"_A Light-Bringer finally walks among us once more_" spoke the VI

Marc gave it a curious glance and deactivated his helmet so he could look at it with his own eyes without any filters in his helmet.

"Sorry to tell you, but I am not a "Light-Bringer" whatever that is" said Marc

"_I scanned you after I stopped your fall, part of your DNA matches the DNA I have on record of the Light-Bringers_" said the VI

"That simply isn't possible; I am a hybrid yes, but as a mix between Human and a race called Tenno. Not a race called "Light-Bringers" if that is even a race" commented Marc

"_I was aware of your Human DNA but could not place the other. Tenno… thank you for expanding my database. I was not referring to either of these species; I was referring to the 0.001% of your DNA that matches our Light-Bringers_" said the VI

Marc blinked once, then twice and then he stopped moving all together. Something inside his brain decided to shut down at the prospect of him being the mix of THREE species, getting turned into a half Tenno was hard enough to take. He wasn't sure how he would handle being of a third race. When he finally managed to shake himself back he stared at the VI

"How is that possible?" asked Marc

"_I do not know. Your DNA make up reads as being 49.507% percent Tenno and 49.492% Human, the last 0.001% matches the Light-Bringers. In truth it is not a surprise that you match their DNA the Light-Bringers are an ancient race, it would not be unfounded for them to have mixed their heritage with that of the Humans. A few Protheans received that honor; they are now sadly all extinct_"

"Perhaps it would be better for you to inform me about these… Light-Bringers of yours?" asked Marc

"_Certainly. The Light-Bringers is an ancient race of believed humanoids that have mastered intergalactic travel. The means of which they travel between planets were never revealed to the Prothean race. Our records state that it was the Light-Bringers whom first gave the Prothean race the means to achieve intergalactic travel. Our race has worshipped the Light-Bringers in secret since our discovery of the Citadel, in two documented circumstances the Light-Bringers came to us and retrieved a Prothean Champion for a cause unknown to us. Both champions returned and soon after their return both of them withdrew from the military and departed with the Light-Bringers once more, claiming to have seen enough to not wish to witness further bloodshed. The last documented sighting of a Light-Bringer was 78323 years ago when one arrived to retrieve one of the two champions_" the VI's voice rang clear through both the facility and Marc's mind.

'_That… is a lot more serious than I ever thought it would be. So these Light-Bringers I am apparently descended from brought the Protheans the means to achieve space flight, not a small task but it doesn't make sense either. If this race truly came twice and claimed a champion from the Protheans then one must assume they have been around for a while. Given that the Protheans where the first race of their cycle to achieve space flight, which would implicate that these Light-Bringers were perhaps from the previous cycle but that makes little to no sense either'_ Marc's thoughts were barreling around inside his head, there was very few things he didn't manage to think about in a very short time frame but there was one thing he was very curious about.

"First off, what do I call you?" asked Marc

"_I am called Honor_" spoke the VI

"Very well, I must ask you if these Light-Bringers were from the previous cycle?" asked Marc

"_Touch the Beacon, Light-Bringer and all will be explained to you_" said Honor in response

Looking behind the VI towards the beacon itself Marc did eye it with a bit of caution. He knows what that thing could do to his mind and he really wasn't sure how his mind would react sine he didn't have the cipher. Speaking of the Cipher…

"Oh fuck…" muttered Marc

He had completely forgotten that Shepard had seen him fall off the side! More so they wouldn't know what he was actually alive down here! Quickly brining up his omni-tool he tried to contact Shepard only to realize that he wasn't getting a clear signal down here, something was interfering.

"_I will guide you back up to where you fell once we are finished, Light-Bringer. Now touch the beacon so you will know"_ said Honor

Accepting the words Marc stepped forward and stood in front of the Beacon. It did take a moment for him to actually reach out and touch it with his hand but as soon as he did his entire world went dark.

The darkness soon gave way to a beautiful city with spires seemingly going on forever. Around him the sound of people laughing and talking could be heard, it was in a word, _perfect._ When he finally got his bearings a little more Marc finally managed to take a closer look at the people of the city. They were all as tall as him, if not slightly taller or shorter. It was simple enough to see the difference between their men and women due to their presence of a bust and distinctively feminine features on some of the people.

These people had bright blue skin matching that of Liara, their eyes were pure white with only a pupil and no iris. From where he stood Marc managed to spot almost every color of the rainbow in their eyes. The hair on these people covered every length imaginable; some had buzz cuts while others had hair reaching down past their knees. They had neither visible ears nor nostrils but a distinct bump was visible on everyone's faces indicating a nose. Now what really fascinated Marc was their mouth, or lack of it, not one person Marc could see had a mouth and yet he could clearly hear laughter and see jaws moving in speaking motions. In all truth these people looked a lot like the Protos from StarCraft but with some slight differences.

Suddenly the brilliant city vanished and screams replaced the laughter, Marc now found himself in a desolate battleground with death all around him. The screams seemed to intensify with each new corpse he saw and each meter he moved. When it was almost too much for him to take the image switched again, now he was standing inside something that resembled a house, he was standing in front of a bed with a woman in it. She was cradling a baby in her arms and was speaking soothing words; next to her was a man with, despite the lack of mouth, a clear smile on his face. The child squirmed a little until its completely white eyes met Marcs for a second.

Once their eyes locked Marc fell to his knees screaming as his mind was assaulted by millions of images scrolling at speeds even his eyes could not comprehend, what few he caught showed death and destruction by the hands of the reapers. When it all stopped Marc stood up once more and looked around, hoping it was now over. A gentle hand touched his shoulder and as he turned he caught sight of a woman of that strange race that he saw moments ago, she was smiling at him and grabbed the sides of his head. Slowly she led their foreheads together and a single word was spoken

"Orokan…"

It was almost a whisper and Marc wasn't even sure he caught it right, he didn't know what it meant but he felt warm inside when he heard it. The woman released her hold on him and smiled at him one last time before her eyes went from clear white to absolute darkness

"Forgive me, Orokan" spoke the woman

Images assaulted Marc anew but this time they were slower and made more sense, he saw the destruction of a race, a government and a galaxy. He saw the fall of a cycle, images of the Citadel with species he couldn't recognize flashed across his mind before many different things were downloaded into his mind. This wasn't a warning like on Eden Prime, this was something else… this was a message.

Everything went quiet as Marc closed to his eyes to escape from the images. When he had gathered enough courage to open them once more he was met with an amazing sight. He was standing in front of the clearest lake he had ever seen; around him was a forest with trees in every color. The wind was blowing gently across the grass making it dance, what he assumed to be birds were singing in the trees. A gentle laugh made him turn around to face the woman he met moments before.

She smiled warmly at him before speaking "Come find me in the place where the darkness could never reach… come find me, Orokan"

And then it was over. With a horrid gasp Marc was once more standing inside the large facility on Feros, the dim light of Honor behind him and the infuriating sight of hundreds of dead Prothean all around him. His body ached as he stood. A smile came to his face as his mind accepted what he had just witnessed and Shepard had gone through something similar?

"_Did you find your answers Light-Bringer?"_

"I don't know. I saw a race I didn't know; I saw a magnificent city full of life. I saw the destruction of a cycle and the birth of life. That race… were they the Light-Bringers?"

"_No. The vision you saw was a message left behind by the last Light-Bringer, she ordered me to keep it safe and that one day someone would come that needed to see it. You have arrived and I have given you the message, my purpose is fulfilled"_

"Will you lead me back to the towers now?"

"_Yes. Do you wish to find those you were with when you fell?"_

"Do you know where they currently are?"

"_They are entering the Exo-Geni building at this moment, follow me and I shall show you the old elevator"_

Honor slowly fell apart until only the little green orb remained. It then flew out of the complex with Marc following behind it. They walked for a few minutes but eventually stood in front of something that resembled a huge wall. Looking up he couldn't see the end of it no matter how hard he tried.

"_Touch the wall Light-Bringer"_

Marc did as asked and a small platform came out of the wall. The green orb watched as Marc climbed aboard and a railing shot up and ensured that he couldn't fall over the edge.

"_My purpose is fulfilled, I will now join my brothers. I wish you luck Light-Bringer"_

"You have done well Honor, thank you"

The little green orb flickered and vanished before the platform Marc stood on shot away up the tower. The platform was moving at incredible speeds and Marc didn't doubt that he would be reaching his goal quickly. He was proven right when a half minute later the platform stoppednext to the garage entrance that led into the Exo-Geni headquarters.

The garage door was wide open and the Mako was visible inside as well. Passing the Mako and through a few doors Marc soon came upon the first few Geth that the team must have taken out, he knew they were out looking for the information and would most likely run across Lizbeth Baynham. Following the trail of Geth and general open/locked doors Marc soon found himself standing in front of the familiar ledge.

Jumping down the ledge Marc quickly spotted the path ahead and recognized it from the games, a little beyond is the segment where you meet with Lizbeth and then fight some warren. Upon entering the room Marc notices that the fight is apparently over or has been for a while, in any case Shepard was currently standing with the team and was clearly talking with Lizbeth.

A lone varren survivor was however slowly creeping up on them and was at mind to jump them and hopefully kill one of them. Shaking his head and relaying what small amount of energy he had left to a Tail Wind, Marc shot forward with his Nikana drawn and poised to strike and as soon as he passed over the varren his blade swung and met its target as the varren's head was quickly separated from its body.

Everyone turned around at once to look at the newcomer who had just shot forward like he had been blown out of a canon. When the person stood up and the rather strange armor became visible there was no doubt in the team's mind whom was standing there, that crazy bastard had survived the fall. Garrus took it in a stride and laughed while shaking his head. Liara was extremely happy that she would still get a chance to learn about him. Ashley was relieved that one of the few good people she had met wasn't lost.

Shepard however wasn't exactly _happy_, oh sure she was feeling something for him being alive and well. But that something didn't outweigh the anger she was currently feeling over the belief she had once more lost someone close to her. So it was with a controlled stride and a passive face that she stepped up in front of him and stared at his mask before speaking.

"Could you take off your mask, I would like to say this to your face" said Shepard with a stoic expression, betraying nothing

Marc did as instructed and lowered his helmet and gave Shepard a genuinely warm smile, after what he had experienced with Honor he had found new respect for her due to what she had seen with the beacon on Eden Prime. Shepard however was of a split mind to whatever she was meant to _punch him_ or _kiss him_.

Ohh well… a compromise then, leaning forward slightly while raising herself up Shepard caught Marc's lips with her own and brought her arms around his neck.

**A/N: Yes we are ending it there. Cliffhanger? No not really. We will be finishing Feros next time. The reason this chapter was so incredibly delayed was because life decided to rear its ugly head once more. I have moved to a college which was located on the other side of my country, I have been attending for two weeks now and have only recently found a hole in my studies to write. **

**When will the next update come out? I have no fucking clue anymore, I can only hope I will be able to use my weekends to write. If anything people I wish for you all to know that this story isn't dead, I have hated seeing a lot of my favorite stories die out and resolved with myself that I wouldn't let that happen. I can't promise it will be fast, but Mass Effect: Dimensional Rift **_**will**_** see its ending.**

**Well that is all for now, the door is down the corridor to the left please leave a review on the way out if you are feeling kind.**

**-Bundlejumper**


	11. Chapter 11

Shepard hadn't expected much when she kissed him, perhaps nothing more than simply pecking him on the lips or perhaps feel him return it slightly. She certainly didn't expect to feel a set of arms going around her back pulling her closer while he _certainly_ returned the kiss. She couldn't tell how long they had been standing there with their lips locked but when they finally separated she saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before, and she wanted to see it again.

Marc himself was equally surprised, both by the kiss and the fact that he returned it with just as much vigor. When he separated from her he could have sworn he saw Sivra standing a little behind her grinning like a loon while mouthing "I told you!" over and over again, he couldn't help but smile. A Sharp pain however interrupted his happy moment as Shepards hand impacted with his face leaving behind a small red print.

"Don't you ever fucking pull that sort of shit again!" yelled Shepard before she took in his face and a twitch appeared on her face "and wipe that shit eating grin from your face!" she yelled again

He wanted to remove it but he couldn't! For the first time since Sivra died he felt genuinely happy! He had found the person he would give his last years too, not really caring what it would bring him Marc pulled Sarah back in and locked their lips once more. If Shepard was against the act she certainly wasn't showing it.

When they parted again Shepard now too had a rather stupid grin on her face. She quickly schooled it back into her "Commander" role so as to stay professional… though there was nothing professional about what they just did. A rather exaggerated cough brought the two lovebirds back to reality

"That is nice and all and I'm happy for both of you, but should we perhaps get on with our mission? You know stopping the giant talking PLANT that can CONTROL MINDS?!" Garrus yelled the last part as to incur urgency

Both Shepard and Marc turned towards Garrus with an apologetic look in their eyes before stepping up alongside him. After telling Lizbeth to stay put and out of sight the team headed out towards the upper levels of the tower. Marc had fallen to the back and Garrus soon joined him.

"So… you and the Commander huh?" asked Garrus with an amused grin

Marc shrugged "Don't ask me to explain it because I can't"

"It doesn't need to be explained my friend. You do know that Kaiden is going to throw a fit when he finds out right?" said Garrus

"Of course he is and when he does it all depends on his choice of words" replied Marc not so cryptically.

"Worried you might have to hurt him?" asked Garrus

"Worried I might have to _kill_ him" replied Marc

"You think it will go that far?"

"I hope not Garrus. But who knows how it will turn out"

'_Certainly not me anymore, that's for sure…'_ thought Marc privately as he and Garrus followed the rest of the team up the stairs only to be met with a raised fist ordering them to stop. The sound of an angry Krogan could be heard up ahead as he was yelling at the VI to give him the information he wanted. The team approached carefully but Marc already knew the VI would alert the Krogan to their presence and he was ready to speed forward.

Turns out he didn't need too. The poor unsuspecting Krogan suddenly found himself levitating in midair while coming under fire from two assault rifles only to be finished off by a biotic throw sending him into the wall with a rather sickening crack… _'That's… one way to do it I suppose'_

"… You know what I think I am starting to understand why my dad always told me that my mother is the real power back home" whispered Garrus

Marc only nodded and continued to stare at the dead Krogan until the VI spoke

"_Exo-Geni Corporation reminds all staff that the discharging of weapons while on company property is strictly forbidden. Welcome back, Research Assistant Elizabeth Bayham. What can I do for you?"_ finished the VI

Shepard looked slightly confused at first due to being addressed as Elizabeth but quickly worked out that the terminal was only registering the card in her pocket and not the actual face of the person.

"Tell me what information the last user was attempting to access" said Shepard

"_The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of subject 37, the Thorian_" spoke the VI

Everyone stilled slightly as Marc's information just got confirmed, there really was a Thorian somewhere on Feros and apparently Exo-Geni had been studying the thing.

"I need you to tell me everything you told the Krogan" said Shepard

"_I was unable to provide the last user with any relevant data, aside from lacking proper access there has been no new data available on subject 37. All sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu's Hope have been inactive for several cycles_" said the VI

Everyone eyes widened slightly at the indication but no one wanted to risk denying it. Echo stepped forward and sighed before speaking

"So subject 37, the Thorian, is located beneath the substructure of Zhu's Hope?" asked Echo

"_That is correct_" replied the VI

"Shit…" muttered Echo

"What is it?" Asked Garrus

"If that damn thing is under Zhu's Hope then the entire place is most likely infected like I suspected but that isn't the bad news. Thorians are capable of storing tons of information and who knows how long this one has been around. This is definently what Saren was after and the reason the Geth are attacking Zhu's Hope, they want to get back to the Thorian for some reason" replied Echo

Shepard had turned away from the conversation as soon as Echo had revealed the Thorian's location, she was currently attempting to call the Normandy and alert Joker to shut down the ship in case the Thorian ordered the colonist to attack the ship but she wasn't getting through.

"Fuck that field is blocking our communications, we need to bring that field down and get back to the outpost _now!_" half yelled Shepard

Echo turned towards the VI "Tell me everything you know about the Geth ship and the field it is generating"

"_I have limited data on the Geth. They have effectively blocked all sensors within the facility. I have detected unusual power fluctuations, but I am unable to determine the source_" replied the VI

"We need to find that ship and make it detach from the building or destroy it before we can do anything" said Ashley from the back

"Agreed, let's move out people" ordered Shepard

The team got into formation behind Shepard and continued their exploration of the Exo-Geni building. In through the corridors a few thoughts passed through Echo's mind. One of the most prominent is the glowing orb that the Geth are "praying" to a little further ahead. In the games you never got to investigate the thing and he had always been quite curious about it and whatever it was simply a light or an actual object of reverence to the Geth.

"Geth!" was shouted from the front and everyone went into combat mode as the team took up tactical positions and began firing at the geth in the small room. Incredibly there was far more geth inside their little temple than there was in the games.

A rather loud thud could be heard as Echo hit the wall after he had recoiled from getting shot in the head with a Geth Sniper Rifle. His shield was almost none existent and now he had a killer headache… not a good mix in a trained killer. Jumping forward Echo lurched in mid-air as he drew his Nikana and cleaved straight through the Geth that had nailed him in the forehead.

It proved quite the mistake when he felt plasma slugs dig into his back as a Geth Shotgun blast had torn straight through what remained of his shields and then proceeded to dig slightly into the Alpha-Frame which left Echo with a few holes that would need fixing. Luckily the Geth in question was taken down by Garrus before it could unleash another shell into Echo's back.

Straightening his back Echo gave a low growl as his spine popped and four plasma slugs slowly began moving their way out of his back. All four hit the ground with a rather disgusting splat as they were incased in blood and tissue.

"Eva, damage report" said Echo

"_Minor tissue and muscle damage. No internal organs struck by the slugs. You should be safe to proceed with the mission if you avoid further shots to your back"_ responded Eva

A slap to the back of the head made Echo turn around to a glaring Shepard

"What the hell kind of stunt was that? You knew damn well that there was more Geth down there and yet you jump down and begin swinging around that fancy sword of yours without regards to other threats!" growled Shepard

Echo slightly inclined his head in apology "Sorry Shepard. But that bastard nailed me straight in the forehead; I take that sort of thing personal"

A tick developed over Shepards left eye as she stared at her new lover with a stare that almost screamed "you idiot!"

"Well next time wait until _after_ we have disposed of the remaining geth! And if you really can't wait then don't jump in when you barely have any shields left to speak off!" yelled Shepard in annoyance.

Under his helmet Echo had an apologetic smile on his face as he nodded to Shepard before stepping up next to Garrus and thanking him for taking out that Geth before it added a few quick access oxygen holes to his lungs.

"No problem. Spirits know that Shepard would have my fringes if I let you die so soon after your relationship began" joked Garrus

"I wouldn't joke about that sort of thing if I were you Garrus, she might seriously do it" returned Echo

Garrus gave a small laugh despite silently agreeing with Echo's assessment, she probably would. As the team looked around the room Echo approached the small glowing orb and placed his hand slightly above it.

"Eva, run a scan for me. Cross reference with any data-base you can find" said Echo

A small light emitted from Echo's hand as Eva began scanning the little glowing orb to determine what material it is made of or perhaps if it is even composed of a certain material, it could after all just be a hologram that the Geth are projecting. When a small ping sounded signaling the end of the scan Echo flipped his hand so his hand was palm up and a hologram of the data appeared over his hand.

"_Operator I believe this material is a very early version of the Warframe armoring. Though this particular source seems to be incredibly young and has not been exposed to the same amounts of radiation or absorbed as much energy as the ones that are used in Warframe creation_" said Eva

"Magnificent… to think that this exists here. Given enough time this one little source could become enough to create some small semblance of a Warframe… how fascinating. Eva do you see any potential in bringing it back with us or should we find a safe zone to deposit it and then return for it later?" asked Echo

"_The Normandy frequently travels near suns and planets with high radiation and energy output so it is possible that if the material is placed somewhere where it could absorb these energies, that we could potentially mature it making it usable_" replied Eva

Echo smirked beneath his helm as he took the small orb and placed it in a storage compartment on his leg. _'So it seems that the two dimensions are more closely connected than I first thought. If anything this opens up the possibility that a lot of unprocessed material from my world is present in this world as well, that means I just need to find it and figure out a way to mature it'_

Echo continued to look over the information that he was given and found that the material was in fact already usable in its current form, only it wouldn't provide as good protection or possibility for reshaping as its processed counterpart. A tap on his shoulder alerted him to Shepard standing behind him while looking at the screen hovering over his hand.

"Neat trick. Is it based around the same tech as the Omni-tool?" asked Shepard

"Not really but the concept is essentially the same. I assume the road ahead is clear?" asked Echo in return

"It is, I just came back to get you. Find something that interested you?"

"Indeed I did. I don't know of how much use it will be just yet but I hope it will turn out well and if it does I might be able to forge something truly unique"

Shepard nodded and turned around before leading the way back to the team who was standing down a corridor waiting for the two. Everyone fell back into formation which meant Echo was once more walking with Garrus in the back in a comfortable silence.

The room they came to was large and had two of the Geth ships claws inside it. They really didn't have any heavy ordinance to blow away either of the legs but Echo knew that a little further ahead they would find a few geth alongside the pressure controls to one of the doors that is capable of cutting the leg. A gentle nudge in his shoulder made Echo turn his gaze towards Garrus who had a peaceful and yet interested look in his eyes as he pointed forwards to the two people walking in front of them.

Echo looked forward and felt a smile tug on his lips as he saw Ashley walk with her gun in her right hand while her left hand was intertwined with Liara's. A low chuckle escaped him though it didn't make it past the helmet sound suppressers, the slight shake of his head did though and Garrus saw it.

"Who would thought…" began Garrus

"I guess Ashley took me and Wrex suggestion quite literally" continued Echo

"Think it's going to last?" asked Garrus

"They will have problems… Ashley will have a long way to go before she fully accepts that she has fallen for an alien. Bad things are going to be said and harsh truths will be exchanged but I think in the end the two of them will stand strong at each other's side" responded Echo

Garrus nodded with a smile "I think your right. I guess that means I have to find me someone so I don't get left behind by the rest of you… wouldn't want Wrex to get a lady before me…"

Echo gave a low laugh "hehe… no you don't. Ever thought about Tali?"

Echo knew that he was pushing it a little by trying to make a relationship happen a good two and a half years before it would have started naturally but he didn't really care at that moment.

"It could happen. I guess time will tell" said Garrus

Echo nodded in response and looked forward and past Liara and Ashley to see Shepard prepare her weapon in expectance of a fight, he did the same. Shortly after a shout Geth began the fight as Echo jumped over the railing and down onto the same level as the Geth where he took cover and began firing at the Geth with his Vasto.

Ashley and Liara had both taken cover at the top of the stairs where Ashley had a good position to cover Liara while she pelted the Geth with her Biotics which opened up some easy shots for Shepard and Garrus whom had bunkered down together behind a crate.

Shepard popped and fired at one of the Geth only to have to pull herself down at an incredible speed with a quick "Fuck!" because her shields had been shot to hell by a lucky shot. Garrus muttered something from next to her that she didn't catch and didn't care for. A bang sounded as Garrus killed another Geth though it was clear from his expression that something was off.

A perfectly placed Singularity managed to catch the last two Geth in midair which allowed Echo to save everyone some bullets by jumping forward and slicing the last two Geth apart with his Nikana.

With the fighting done Shepard turned towards Garrus and stared as he inspected his sniper and began growling angrily.

"Something wrong Garrus?" asked Shepard

"Yeah my heat dampener is screwed and I don't have a spare. I guess I have to get a new sniper… just fucking fantastic" growled Garrus angrily

Echo came up next to them and looked over the weapon himself, it did indeed look like it couldn't go that much further, perhaps a few more shots before the gun completely overheated and exploded.

"If you want, Garrus, I have a sniper in my weapons locker that you can borrow until you get yourself a new one" said Echo

Garrus turned towards him with a thankful smile "That would be great, getting a new Sniper and getting it fitted is going to be a pain and I'd rather not go into the field without one"

"Don't mention it. I was never much of a Sniper so it has been gathering dust for a while" replied Echo with shrug

"Oh I see, _he_ can burrow one of your extremely dangerous weapons but I can't?" muttered Shepard

Both Garrus and Echo chuckled at the pouty expression on Shepards face and her whiny tone. Of course Echo wouldn't mind lending her another one of his weapons he just didn't know which one would fit her. He was already building her a blade and he couldn't let her borrow one of his more ammo consuming weapons as he didn't have the materials to make more.

"_Fine_" drawled Echo "When we get back you can go pick out a weapon to borrow as well"

Shepards face lit up like a Christmas tree as she thought about what weapon she wanted to borrow

"You are not borrowing my Angstrum, Shepard. It only has six more shots left and I need those later" Echo interrupted her thought process

Shepard resumed her pout but nodded none the less and went over to the console that Ashley was looking over with Liara, it seemed like those two had figured out to use it to cut the leg while the other three had been debating gun borrowing.

"Got something Williams?" asked Shepard

"I think so Ma'am. The talons of the Geth ship are sitting in between the bay doors and if we can get the pressure just right they doors should be able to slam closed with enough force to snap at least one of the legs" replied Ashley

"Good let's get too it" ordered Shepard

Back with Garrus and Echo the two were walking across the room looking for anything useful but finding nothing. Though Garrus had blast when Echo picked up a Geth Pulse rifle only to have the thing frizzle and blow up in his hands making him yelp in surprise. As the two came to the end of the room they inspected some of the lockers down there but found nothing besides a few journals.

"Hey, Echo?" called Garrus

"What's up?" replied Echo

"You think we are going to make it?"

Echo raised an eyebrow as he gazed at Garrus

"What makes you ask that?"

"I don't know… I just feel like before all this is over something really terrible is going to happen"

"*Shrug* I don't really know Garrus. I like to think that we can make it through this but my life has taught me that casualties are unavoidable and no matter what we do, we will always lose someone"

"*Sigh* I know you're right but I still wish it was different"

"We all do, Garrus"

"Yeah…"

The two began walking back towards Ashley, Liara and Shepard when the bay doors began grinding up before slamming shut and cutting the arm of the Geth ship causing the entire tower to shake as the giant ship outside began its fall towards the ruins below.

'_I hope that didn't hit anything important to Honor…'_ thought Echo as he realized that there might be some really important things down there that Honor had kept hidden from all the looters and scientist that have inspected the ruins over the years.

"The shields are down Commander, we should be able to leave and contact the Normandy now" said Liara

Shepard nodded before opening a com link back the Normandy

"Joker, come in Joker" said Shepard

"_Shepard? Damn you don't know how good it is to hear your voice. You need to get back here quickly Commander, some crazy shit is going on"_ replied Joker

"What is it?" asked Shepard

"_The colonists suddenly began banging on the hull trying to get in. I sealed the ship and we have few armed guards standing ready at the door should they somehow manage to get in"_ answered Joker

"Understood Joker, sit tight and we will be there as soon as possible" said Shepard

"_Aye, Aye Ma'am"_ was Jokers reply

"Okay let's get moving people!" yelled Shepard

The entire team began moving towards the garage to the Mako but took the detour to find Lizbeth first. They found her standing and waiting for them near one of the corridors leading towards the Garage. Shepard however had a few choice words to say before they moved on.

"You and I need to talk, you knew more about the Thorian then you let on" accused Shepard

"I… I was afraid okay? I wanted to stop the test but they threatened me, told me that I would be next! When the Geth attacked I stayed behind to send a message to Colonial Affairs. I wanted to tell them where to find the Thorian but the power was cut before I could send the message" responded Lizbeth

"*Sigh* okay listen you did what you could. I'll help the colony if you can tell me exactly where the Thorian is" said Shepard

"It's directly beneath Zhu's Hope but the colonists blocked the entrance with a freighter just before the Geth attacked" replied Lizbeth

"Smart move on their part. Let's get moving and stop that thing" ordered Shepard

"I'm coming with you, I might still be able to undo some of the damage this place caused" said Lizbeth

Shepard only nodded and led the way to the Mako. As soon as everyone was inside Garrus climbed into the gun while Echo once more took the navigator's seat next to Shepard. They barreled out of the Garage at full speed but were quickly met by a heavy Geth presence. As they fought their way through them Shepard closed the hatch leading into the cockpit which gave the two some privacy.

"What happened to you down there?" asked Shepard while dodging an Armature blast

"What do you mean Shepard?" asked Echo in return

"You know damn well what I mean, Marc"

Marc let the helmet on his armor recede into its confinement as he rubbed his tired eyes and stared out the window towards the assembled geth.

"I landed in the ruins, Sarah, that's all"

"Bullshit, never mind the fact that you somehow survived the fall but ever since you came back I can feel something different about you. You seem almost like I did the first few days after I had interacted with the beacon on Eden Prime"

"… something did happen in those ruins, Sarah… but please trust me on this and I will tell you everything once we are back safely on the Normandy and aren't about to face down a sentient plant"

Sarah stared at Marc for a few moments before nodding.

"I trust you. But I expect to get every detail once this is over"

"Of course, Sarah"

Marc's helmet slid back over his face as Shepard opened the hatch once more connecting them with their team. As they passed through the last remaining Geth they finally came through to the way station, but upon approaching the small camp of survivors from the Exo-Geni tower they got strange com chatter that sounded like a fight was about to break out which resulted in Lizbeth demanding that they stop the Mako after she heard her mother's voice.

The team quickly disembarked the Mako and moved down into the camp just in time to see Jeong in the process of losing his mind. Lizbeth however only saw her mother being grabbed by two of the guards and ran in to save her.

"Dammit! Come out where I can see you, all of you!" yelled Jeong

Everyone slowly moved out and revealed themselves and reactions was mostly as expected until Echo stepped forward and Jeong caught sight of him.

"Wh… What is that thing?!" yelled Jeong

"I am not a _thing_. Lower that gun unless you intend to use it" replied Echo

"Goddamnit I knew it was too much to hope for that the Geth would kill you Shepard" said Jeong after refocusing on Shepard

"Calm down, we can talk about this and nobody has to get hurt" said Shepard in a calm tone

"No! You don't understand! Communications is back up and Exo-Geni wants this place purged" half-yelled Jeong

"What?! This is a human colony Jeong, you can't just repurpose us!" cried Lizbeth in outrage

"You don't get it! There is something far more valuable here than just a few simple colonists" Jeong yelled back

Echo moved forward with incredible speed and grabbed Jeong's arm and twisted it so he would drop the gun before grabbing him around the throat and pulling him into a headlock.

"The Thorian is not a subject to be experimented on or with, you stupid human! That thing is to be destroyed and all memory of it forgotten!" yelled Echo in clear anger

"What?! No are you insane? Exo-Geni would have my head if I allowed it to be killed!" yelled Jeong

"Then I will save Exo-Geni the trouble" said Echo in a low and dangerous tone before

*CRACK*

The neck of Jeong gave a sick sound as it twisted and was turned 180 degrees. Echo knew that this guy was a worthless piece of shit. He remembered all too clearly from the games how this fucker wanted to dispose of the colonists and just forget they were ever there. Echo really didn't like those kind of people.

"Echo!" yelled Shepard

Echo turned towards Shepard but didn't seem to react in any different way. He then turned towards Lizbeth and her mother.

"The colonists are under the Thorian's control and we need to get to it but the colonists won't let us without a fight. Got a way for us to deal with them without killing them?" asked Echo

Shepard was standing to the side with a ridiculed look on her face, how the hell could he kill someone in cold blood like that and then not show any reaction?

"I don't kno… wait, yes! If you hit them with a concentrated Nerve agent it would knock them out until you could deal with the Thorian, like a gas grenade!" said Juliana

Echo nodded and watched as Juliana went over to assemble the attachments for the team's grenade launchers. He spared a glance to the corpse at his feet and surprisingly didn't feel anything. Usually there would be _something_ when he killed, be it either loathing or enjoyment or sometimes even glee but here there was _nothing_. This one had perhaps not deserved to die but he had been in the way… Shepard had been able to talk him down but Echo wasn't Shepard… he didn't save _anyone_.

He felt a tug on his shoulder and turned to stare into the eyes of Garrus who was giving him a concerned look. He shook his head at the Turian in a gesture of asking to be left alone, Garrus reluctantly stepped away again.

As Juliana returned and handed the modifications to the team she was about to give one to Echo when he shook his head at her while indicating that he didn't have a Grenade Launcher. Once everyone had equipped and prepared their launchers the team made their way back to the Mako. About halfway up the ramp Shepard grabbed Echo's shoulder and stopped him while everyone continued on ahead.

When the rest of the team was at the Mako, Shepard turned around and gestured for Echo to remove his helmet, which he did.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" asked Shepard in a pissed tone

"If you are refereeing to the death of that useless fool then I did the galaxy a service" replied Echo in an even tone

"You don't get to decide who lives and dies around here!" yelled Shepard

"Correct! **But** that asshole had it coming from miles away. You forget that I have information on Exo-Geni and a lot of other things, that fucker I just killed down there would, at first given chance, kill everyone in that colony and then blame it either on us or the Thorian. He would have ended up dead either way, if I didn't do it then Exo-Geni would have sent an assassins to take care of him for allowing the Thorian to get killed" retorted Marc

Shepard looked displeased at his explanation but couldn't exactly fault him in his logic. Jeong had said it himself that Exo-Geni would have his head; she just hadn't thought he meant it literally.

"Be that as it may, next time you will talk to _me_ before you decide to go out and kill someone!" yelled Shepard in a commanding voice

Echo's face suddenly turned very passive and neutral

"Sarah… let's get one thing extremely clear right this moment" Shepard actually gulped at his tone "I am not _your_ subordinate, I am here of my own free will to help stop Saren from bringing back the Reapers and I can most certainly assure you that I will do my best at that endeavor. But that doesn't change the fact that I am privy to some information that you are not and as such we are going to be coming across people that I will kill due to their previous actions"

Echo's face seemed too darkened as he thought something over for a few moments.

"I care for you Sarah, more than I have cared for anyone in a long time" He reached down at took her hand in his own "I don't want this to come crashing down before we have had a chance to explore it, so _please _Sarah just trust me that there are some people in this galaxy that doesn't deserve to live" he waited a few moments before adding "If it makes you feel better then I will warn you should we ever come across someone like that again"

Shepard tightened her grip on his hand and leaned her forehead against his while the whisper of a smile danced across her face.

"That's all I ask, Marc" she grinned slightly before adding "And don't you dare think you are getting rid of me that easily, it will take a lot more than this to make me reconsider this" she finished by gesturing between them with her free hand.

'_Then I fear your reaction when I reveal to you what I truly am, Sarah'_ thought Echo to himself as he followed Shepard back to the Mako and jumped into the navigator seat.

The drive back to the tower that held the colony was spent in relative silence as Echo half listened to Liara and Ashley talking about a few mundane human things like billiard and golf… Liara failed to see the reason to be swinging a stick at a small white ball. As they pulled into the garage the team instantly knew something was off, though it was cliché as hell it was way too quiet.

"Where did the guards go?" mumbled Ashley

"Recalled to protect the Thorian" replied Echo

"Everyone got their grenades ready?" asked Shepard

A chorus of confirmation was sounded.

"What about you Echo?" inquired Shepard

"I will sneak up behind them if I can and knock them unconscious. That should work just as well as gas grenade and might be a decent alternative if you run out of grenades" replied Echo

Shepard nodded and led the team back through the tower down towards the colony. As they progressed down the stairs a faint sound became clearer and clearer until something that sounded like muffled groans could be heard. A pair of sickly green skinned husk like beings walked forward towards the team, Echo recognized them instantly and knew that the Acid those things could spit was not a good thing to be on the receiving end off.

"Watch for those! Don't let them near you!" yelled Echo as he began firing at the Thorian Creepers.

Everyone took his suggestion and stayed as far from the Creepers as they could while shooting them down. They encountered quite few of them until they came upon the first barricade that had two colonists guarding it. Garrus lopped a grenade right between the two and it exploded in a green mist that soon saw the two colonists drop to the floor in an unconscious heap.

"That's two down. Question is how many more is in there" muttered Garrus

"I counted sixteen on our first pass through, but that isn't taking those that could have been inside the structures into consideration" replied Echo

They entered the colony to the sound of gunfire as the entire team had to take cover behind the giant stone blocks to avoid the constant fire from what seemed like six gathered colonists.

"Goddamnit! Who the hell thought it was a good idea to give colonists military grade weaponry?!" yelled Ashley

Echo gave a weak laugh as he looked to his side and spied a route that would allow him to get behind the cover the colonists were using by climbing up onto the containers.

"Shepard I am about to do something stupid again, could you cover me?" asked Echo while gesturing to his path

Shepard looked it over and gave a grin as she nodded and the entire team came out of cover and laid down some covering fire. Echo jumped up on some boxes and onto the containers and ran across them as he dodged a few bullets from some of the other colonists around the colony. He finally reached a point where he could jump over the cover that the colonists were using.

He landed square in the center of four colonists and he quickly took his Nikana and spun around while still crouching which allowed him to knock all the colonists over. In their down positions Echo was quickly capable of applying a strike to their heads that knocked them unconscious for a good long time. A grenade exploding with nerve gas took out the two other colonists that had been firing at the team.

"They are certainly well coordinated for mind controlled drones" quipped Garrus

"So far, so good. Let's take care of the rest of them" said Shepard

The team went through the entire colony while ensuring they caught as many colonists they could with their grenades at a time. Luckily due to the sheer amount of people they had brought they had more than enough grenades to deal with the remaining colonists and soon enough the entire colony was in blissful unconsciousness.

The team found the crane and managed to get it back in working condition as they raised the freighter that had been placed atop the entrance to the Thorians' lair.

They progressed rather slowly down through the corridors that would eventually lead to the Thorian and where most of the team had their own thoughts running, Echo had a much different thought pattern. He knew they would have to end up fighting against Asari clones and he had actually yet to face a Biotic in direct combat, sure he had faced down a few on the Citadel in his months there but most of them were never allowed to throw Biotics before he took them out.

As the turned a corner the giant Thorian became visible at the end of the corridor and everyone made their own variation of disgusted face, that thing looked really ugly. Echo even admitted to himself that the thing was way the fuck uglier in reality than in the game.

As they approached the giant plant Echo was of mind to begin blasting the thing but he knew that it had such thick skin that nothing short of dropping it down the hole it was hanging over was going to kill it.

A sick gurgling sound could be heard as the Thorian "birthed" a clone of the green Asari. Everyone watched in disgust as the slime covered Asari stood up and turned her dead gaze at them.

"Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as nothing but meat, good only to dig or decompose. I speak for the old growth as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian, it commands you be in awe" said the Asari

Shepard stepped forward "You gave something to Saren, I want to know what it was"

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the long cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no longer!"

The sound of a blade being drawn could be heard moments before the clone had its head separated from its body as it fell lifeless to the ground.

"That was a clone… there should be more around. Let's find a way to kill this thing" said Echo as he wiped his blade

A door opened to their right and out came a few creepers which were quickly gunned down. A giant tentacle was attached to the wall inside with a giant growth on it that Echo recognized.

"Blast that thing" he said while pointing at it

Ashley used her shotgun to tear holes in it and cries of pain could be heard coming from the Thorian.

"That worked" grinned Ashley

As the tentacle detached Echo looked out at the side of the Thorian with an evil grin

"There should be more of those around, if we get enough of them then it will drop down into the pit below" said Echo

Everyone nodded and proceeded to make their way through the strange chamber that the Thorian was hanging in. They came across multiple clones and Creepers, a few of which almost cost Garrus his life when a biotic throw send him flying out towards the edge. Luckily Liara was quick to grab him and throw him back inside with her own biotics.

Shepard and Echo were fighting together in the front with Echo using his blade to either deflect or damage the Creepers and clones while Shepard shot them to hell. As they came across the various tentacles each of them were destroyed and it was getting visible that the Thorian wouldn't be able to hold itself up much longer.

As they approached the last tentacle they were suddenly met by an ambush of three clones that all three nailed Echo with biotics pushes, from three different angles. Echo screamed as his body felt like it was compressing in on itself and he heard the sound of some of his ribs breaking under the pressure alongside his right collarbone.

Garrus was quick to react and turned around and threw a regular grenade towards one of the clones that blasted it off the side and down the pit. Liara was fighting one of the other clones in a battle of biotics as the two Asari were attempting to overpower the other with sheer force. Liara won out in the end as she her Biotics were naturally stronger than that of the clone.

Ashley and Shepard took care of the last one together with their combined fire, Shepard took down the biotic barrier around the clone and Ashley blew a hole in the clone's stomach with her shotgun blast.

When Echo stood up he was in almost insufferable pain, something he had gotten used to long ago. He popped his collarbone back into place and mentally directed all his nanites to focus on that one particular bone, this would ensure it was ready and healed again by the end of the day. The ribs could be healed over the night.

Shepard destroyed the last tentacle and the team watched with joy as the giant plant fell screaming to its death. No one noticed the way Echo let a happy sigh escape him as he felt imminence relief over finally being rid of a foul creature like that. They made their way back down to the entrance just in time to witness the original Asari that had been used to create the clones burst from a pod.

"I'm free… I'm free!" yelled the Asari

When she noticed the group standing before her she let out a relieved sigh that someone had managed to save her from that wretched creature.

"I suppose I have you to thank for freeing me" she said

Shepard stepped forward and nodded "Is everything alright? Are you hurt?" she asked in concern

The Asari nodded "I am fine, or will be… in time. My name is Shiala. I serve… served Matriarch Benezia, when she allied herself with Saren so did I" her eyes turned sad for a moment before she continued "Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path, but Saren is compelling and Benezia lost her way" finished Shiala

Shepard looked concerned at the news and spared a glance back to see Liara standing with a confused expression on her face, she clearly didn't know how to handle that information. She also saw Ashley grab her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. Shepard turned back towards Shiala with a worried expression

"Are you saying Saren can control minds?" asked Shepard

"In a way. Benezia underestimated Saren, as did I for that matter. We eventually came to believe in his cause and goals. The mere strength of his influence is worrying" said Shiala

"Benezia sought to turn a river and was swept away" muttered Liara with a sad undertone

"How is that possible? Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren's control?" asked Shepard

"Saren has a vessel, an enormous warship unlike anything I have ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become indoctrinated; the process is slow and subtle. It can take days or weeks but in the end it is absolute" Shiala shook her head for a moment "I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my Biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets. Saren offered me in a trade. I was sacrificed to ensure and alliance between Saren and the Thorian"

Shepard scoffed "Saren is pretty quick to betray his own people"

"He was quick to betray the Thorian too. After he had what he wanted he ordered the geth to destroy all evidence of its existence. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit, he knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher" said Shiala

Shepard looked slightly confused but Echo spoke up before her

"What is the Cipher and why did Saren want it?" he asked

Shiala looked at Echo for a moment before turning back to Shepard

"The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions, but they are unclear and confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind, to truly comprehend them you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence. The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became part of it" finished Shiala

Shepard now looked slightly less confused but not by much

"So the Thorian taught Saren how to think like a Prothean? How?" asked Shepard

"The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like explaining a color to creature without eyes. To understand you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory, the Cipher, when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists" spoke Shiala

Shepard growled slightly "There has to be a way for me to acquire that knowledge, I need it to defeat Saren"

"There is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours, as I did with Saren" began Shiala "Try to relax, Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell, reach out to grasp the threads that binds us together, one to another. Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit. We are all connected, every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander. Embrace eternity!" finished Shiala in a half yell

Everyone watched as her eyes turned black as the void and Echo felt a stab of pain in his chest as he witnessed the woman he gave his heart to have her mind connected to another. A useless feeling of jealousy that he shouldn't be feeling and yet there it was.

Shepard was currently reliving her vision as it flashed across her mind with a new clarity, it still seemed confusing but now there seemed to be more structure to the vision than before. When the connection broke Shepard opened her eyes once more and stared at Shiala who seemed slightly shaken.

"I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Prothean are a part of you now" said Shiala

"A knowledge bond can be quite traumatic, are you okay Shepard?" asked Liara concerned

"I'm okay. I saw something, but it still didn't make much sense" replied Shepard with a small smile

"You have been given a great gift; the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to adjust to process this information" spoke Shiala

Echo stepped forward and put a hand on Shepards shoulder

"We should get you back on the shop so we can monitor your brain activity. Ensure nothing went wrong" said Echo

Shiala gave a nod in apology "I am sorry if you have suffered, but there was no other way. You needed the Cipher and in time it will help you understand the vision from the beacon"

Shepard nodded and accepted the apology.

"What about you? Now that you are free of the Thorian what are you going to do?" asked Shepard

"I think I will stay here with your permission, Commander. The colony has suffered greatly and part of it was my fault. I wish to make amends" answered Shiala

"Good idea. The colonists will need all the help they can get when they need to rebuild, you would be a great help to them" smiled Shepard

Shiala returned the smile "Thank you, Commander. May fortune smile upon you"

Shepard nodded and let the team towards the surface once again. There they met with the small group of survivors as they helped the knocked out colonists out of their unconsciousness and helped them get slightly more stable. Juliana thanked the Commander for the help and wished them luck on their mission to stop Saren.

As the team came back aboard the ship Shepard went to talk with Joker while everyone else went down to put away their gear and hopefully relax a little atop the mission. Though they didn't get much farther than removing their gear before everyone was called together for debriefing, so it was a rather tired group of four that walked into the mission room and sat down.

Liara quickly noticed that Shepard had gotten slightly pale and looked a little sick. She looked over at Echo who was staring at Shepard and seemed to share her concerns.

"You seem slightly pale, Commander. Are you suffering from any side effects of the cipher?" asked Liara

"It's nothing, Cipher shook me up a bit is all" replied Shepard with a smile

"I might be able to help you with that Shepard. I am an expert on the Protheans, perhaps if I link my consciousness to yours I can help you make sense of the vision?" asked Liara

Shepard quickly stood up "Do it, we don't have much time left so we can't waste any"

Liara stood up and walked over and stood in front of the commander before she closed her eyes and slowly breathed out. "Relax, Commander. Embrace Eternity!" she yelled before their minds linked. The process went by quickly and soon enough both Shepard and Liara looked ready to fall over but both were caught by Echo and Ashley separately before they could.

"That was… intense. All my research and yet I never dreamed… I'm sorry. The images were so vivid I never imagined the experience would be so… violent" said Liara in a shaky tone

Ashley helped her stand straight but didn't remove her arm she had around her shoulder.

"What did you see?" asked Ashley

"The Beacon on Eden Prime was badly damaged, large parts of the vision is missing. The data transfer into the Commander's mind is incomplete" answered Liara

"You must have seen something?" asked Shepard

"I was able to interpret the data relayed through the vision, what was there at least. But something was missing. Saren must have the missing information, maybe he found another beacon. If the we can find the missing data from your vision I should be able to make sense of it all" replied Liara with a tired look

"You look exhausted, Chakwas should have a look at you" said Ashley

Liara turned and gave Ashley a smile "Thank you but the joining is merely exhausting for me. I just need some rest somewhere quiet and I will be fine"

"Just stay healthy yeah? Dismissed everyone" said Shepard

"_Commander I have sent the Feros report, want me to patch you through to the council?"_ asked Joker's voice over the com

"Patch them through Joker" said Shepard

At the same time the rest of the ground team left the room since no one wanted to deal with the council, they weren't getting paid enough for that. Echo headed down to his ship to relax a little and think over his new relationship with Sarah.

As the hours passed Marc quickly agreed with himself that relationship with Shepard would be a hard one and he would be forced to lie about many things, but there was one thing he had decided he would not hide from her any longer. The fact that he was from a different Dimension all together, he of course had no intention of telling her that he was in fact from _two_ different dimensions since that would only cause needless friction and make her ask some questions he would rather not answer. He simply hoped she would believe him when it came down to it.

He stepped outside his shop to go find Garrus so he could show him his Vectis Sniper, he needed to teach him how to load the bullets and maintain the gun before he could let him use it after all. He however didn't come much further than a few meters from his ship when he saw an angry Kaiden heading directly for him. _'Here we go…'_ thought Marc in annoyance.

"You! I thought told you to stay away from Shepard!" yelled Kaiden

Marc just raised an eyebrow and stared at the lieutenant

"I also remember telling you not to stick your nose in her business anymore, you didn't listen to that either did you?" replied Marc

Garrus had been standing behind the Mako and heard Kaidan's yell and had already called down Shepard, he figured she needed to get here to help him stop the potential death of Kaidan.

"I don't care what you say! I know you are just using her for your own ends in some way!" yelled Kaidan angrily

"And what, pray tell, made you come to that brilliant conclusion, _Lieutenant?_" asked Marc while drawling out the last word

"I know you will get her killed, you see I did some digging and managed to find a pretty interesting file Chakwas had on you. So I want you to stay away from Shepard or I am sure you will end up getting her killed, just like you did your _wife!_" yelled Kaidan

Marc stilled completely at Kaidan's words and felt a shadow pass over his mind. He had gone too far, to somehow even manage to look at the note Chakwas made when they talked… Something inside Marc snapped and the beast that had so long been held prisoner since he had killed that colony was suddenly allowed out… Kaidan was a dead man.

Without giving anything away Marc sprang forward and grabbed Kaidan by the throat before lifting him off the ground for nothing but a few seconds before he threw him across the hangar, sending him slamming into the wall.

Shepard had arrived just to hear the last part of what Kaidan had said. _'I dint know Marc used to have a wife…'_ Shepard was confused but she knew that Marc would explain it to her when he was ready. For now it was about getting in there and ensuring she still had a lieutenant at the end of the day. The large slamming sound only made her move faster as the doors to the hangar opened Shepard was met with the scene of a bleeding and almost unconscious Kaidan lying on the floor, with a clearly angry Marc standing above him.

Marc turned his gaze towards her and their eyes locked for a single second, but it was enough for Shepard to see the dead soulless look he had in them, whatever joy and happiness there had been earlier today was now all but gone. When he turned his gaze back to Kaidan, Shepard's eyes widened as he lifted his leg and clearly had every intent on smashing Kaidan's bones.

"Marc stop!" yelled Shepard but it did nothing

Growling Shepard changed to full Commander mode "Echo Stop! That is an order!" she yelled

Even in his crazed state Echo recognized an order and his Tenno side was compelled to obey since the order had come from someone he respected. So he stopped his assault and placed his leg down on the floor before walking towards Shepard and past the rushing crew members that came to carry Kaidan to Chakwas.

Shepard turned her gaze back to Echo after she had ensured that Kaidan had gotten on the elevator safely.

"Go to my quarters and wait for me to get there!" she ordered

Echo did as ordered and walked to the elevator and waited without saying a word. When the two arrived at the crew deck Shepard headed towards the Med-Bay to ensure Kaidan hadn't taken any permanent damage, while Echo went into Shepard's quarters and sat down.

Shepard came into the med-bay just in time to see Chakwas checking over his wounds, thankfully Echo hadn't managed to do much other than throw his stupid ass into the wall, though he would be hurting for a while nothing major should arise from this.

"So Commander, care to tell me what the Lieutenant could have said to Marc to cause such an extreme reaction?" asked Chakwas

Shepard looked a little surprised at Chakwas addressing Marc by his first name but shrugged it off quick enough.

"I only arrived at the end of their argument, but I heard Kaidan telling Marc that he would end up getting me killed like he did his wife?" said Shepard a little confused

Chakwas hand rose to her mouth "Oh dear…"

"What is it Karin?" asked Shepard now concerned

"I don't know how the Lieutenant could have known about her, but mentioning Marc's wife and then accusing him of causing another woman to die because of him is a surefire way to get killed" said Chakwas as she sent a half glare at Kaidan "He came to me some time ago and we spoke about his past, he mentioned he once had a wife and she had gotten killed on a mission with him. He blames himself for her death and had an extreme reaction when she died. I can only say it's a good thing that you managed to stop him or I am sure I would be doing an autopsy right now"

"That bad?" asked Shepard

"That bad, Sarah" replied Chakwas

"What am I supposed to do with him?" Muttered Shepard while gesturing to Kaidan "He just won't get it through his thick skull that I don't care about him like that. To top it off I have just began a relationship with Marc which is what I think triggered this"

"That could very well be, Sarah. For now I would suggest to leave him alone and then perhaps speak to him once he awakes. But now I think you have someone else to go deal with" said Chakwas with a smile

"Yeah, you're right Karin. Thank you" said Shepard as she turned to leave

At the same time with Marc inside Shepard's quarters the hybrid had finally managed to cool down. With some of his sanity restored Marc could only lament himself for losing control once again. Though this time he might not be feeling just so bad about it since he took it out on Kaidan, stupid idiot.

Though this would without a doubt turn his conversation with Shepard into a much more difficult one. As if on cue Shepard walked through the door and locked her glare at Marc.

"You have some explaining to do" she said

Marc sat down in the sofa and sighed

"*Sigh* You have no idea Sarah… how about you just ask the questions and I will answer them the best I can?" he replied

"Works for me. Let's start with the most obvious one; you were married?"

Marc nodded "I was. Her name was Sivra and she died 53 years ago"

"I am sorry" said Sarah before she sat down next to him

"Don't be. I don't blame myself for her death anymore and finally managed to move on"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Never had the chance or the reason to tell you. I probably would eventually have told you now that we are trying to be together"

"Do you still love her?"

Marc turned his head and stared at Sarah for a few moments "Yes and I always will. Sarah right now you are first in my heart but Sivra will _always_ be a big part of me, she was the first woman I ever loved enough to wish to marry. I hope you can understand that"

Sarah nodded "I understand. What was she like?"

Marc let a chuckle escape him as he thought about it "You are actually a lot alike. She was also stubborn as hell. You both have and incredibly strong will and refuse to take shit from anyone" he turned and looked directly into her eyes "You both have some of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen"

This earned him a small chuckle as Sarah moved closer and took his hand in hers.

"You think we can make it work?" she asked

"I do. It has taken me a long time but I am finally ready to have another woman in my life again. I have chosen you, Sarah, and I need you to know something"

Sarah gave him a curious stare so he went on

"You will be the last woman I will ever love. Should you in the future decide that you and I are not to be then I will respect your decision but know that I will love you from now and until the day I die"

Sarah looked at him with wide eyes before she got a smile on her face and leaned in to give him a quick kiss.

"Thank you" she whispered

The two then fell into a comfortable silence as they sat in each-other's arms while thinking about where they would go from here. Though Marc had one more thing to do, the one thing that would determine whatever he could be with Sarah or not.

"Sarah I have something I need to tell you" he began

She turned towards him and gave him a confused look

"What is it?"

Marc let out a breath as he stood up and stood in front of Sarah and his face turned completely serious.

"What I am about to tell you is the biggest secret I have and I trust you enough to never reveal it to anyone, but I also feel that you need to know this before we go any further" Sarah nodded once in understanding "I am about to reveal to you just why I have the weapons and armor that I do"

Sarah now had his full attention as she sat upright and got completely serious herself.

"I have told you that I am 354 years old correct?" she nodded "I also said I left our world in 2013… the truth is Shepard I didn't just leave Earth… I left our _dimension_ entirely. That is why I have such advanced armor and technology. The tech I am using comes from a completely different dimension and world than this"

Sarah's eyes widened as the implications hit her… another dimension? But how is that possible, and could it even be true for that matter.

"You might find it difficult to believe, but I was somehow taken from my world in 2013 and placed in a different one. There I met the Tenno and eventually joined them. I lived a life there, Sarah as you know. But then a few years ago I was somehow brought here again while I was traveling in my ship. I found out it was now 2183 and everything had changed"

Sarah still didn't say anything as she tried to compute all the information. It fit somehow though, his advanced armor and ship, his strange weapons and choice thereof. Though there was one thing it didn't explain.

"How do you know so much?" she began "How do you know so much about the Reapers, the planets we went to and just everything in general? If you have only been back here for a few years?"

Marc sighed as he knew she at least believed him partially if she was willing to ask those questions. But the problem was that he was already lying again. Sure he was doing it to protect her and the others but he still felt horrible about it.

"I went slightly crazy after I returned, I was angry that I had been robbed of my life so I began searching for a way back. This led me around the universe as I discovered many things and picked up all the knowledge I now possess"

Sarah nodded a little as it seemed to make sense to her.

"Why didn't you tell me this before? Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Because I feared what would happen, I didn't want to become a research object nor did I wish for people to hunt me for my knowledge on the subject. I am telling you now so that you know exactly what I am. I am a hybrid of Tenno and Human, a man whom has been moved between Dimensions. I hope you can accept it Sarah"

Sarah stood up and walked around for a few minutes while debating wit herself. She wanted to believe him and everything he said only helped his case, him getting all that advanced tech from a different dimension seemed to fit as it would also explain why she had never found anything about the Tenno aside from that one man… wait

"What about Hayden Tenno?"

Marc froze as she asked but quickly answered

"Back in the other dimension he was the first of us, the first Tenno. Here I don't know what happened to him but clearly the events played out differently"

Shepard nodded as it once more made sense. There were many questions to be asked and many answers to be found but she figured that he was perhaps also searching for answers to just how he was moved and how he got here. Her focus then turned on the man himself, Marc was a decent guy who had showed many times that he would be willing to stand at her side and help her. He had also proven that he was capable fighter and a monster when the time came.

In the end Sarah came to one conclusion. She loved and trusted him. She quickly went over and embraced him in a hug before kissing him.

"I believe you despite how crazy it all sounds. I am happy that you are willing to share your secret with me. Are you still looking for a way back however?"

Marc shook his head "Not actively no. I wish to someday find a way there, but not without being able to return here once again. I have found something here that I will never abandon" the last part was said with a large smile

"Good. I say this is enough for now, we have both had one hell of a day and you just dropped the bomb-shell of a century on me so I will need some time to think on it all, but I believe you"

Marc gave her another quick kiss before speaking

"Thank you, Sarah. You have no idea how much that means to me"

"Probably not. Let's go get something to eat"

Marc nodded and followed her out into the mess hall as they grabbed some food and sat down with Ashley and Liara where the conversation quickly fell upon the newfound relationship between the Commander and Echo, though Marc was quick to turn the conversation towards Ashley and Liara as well.

* * *

After dinner Marc had excused himself back down to his ship where he had resumed working on Shepard's blade. It was almost finished and only needed a few more things before he could forge it and then he could begin training her in its use. A small beep however interrupted him as he got a message from Sarah asking him to come back up to her quarters.

The entire way there he didn't meet anyone, this was probably due to it being somewhere in the early start of the night cycle and the only people that are around now are the ones that have the graveyard shift. He didn't bother knocking as he stepped through the door and noticed how it locked behind him.

"Thanks for coming so quickly Marc, I just wanted to go over the details of Noveria one more time before we arrive"

Marc nodded and sat down on the other side of her desk

"That's okay, Sarah. What do you wish to review?"

"Mostly just what you told me a few weeks ago. The planet is under the control of the NDC, as you said the entire planet is privately owned and as such doesn't fall under Council law. Meaning my Spectre status doesn't mean much down there, other than I am allowed to carry weapons it seems"

"That is pretty much the gist of it. What do you think Saren sent Benezia there for?"

"I don't know. The place has tons of research centers that the NDC is renting out so odds are that Saren has some experiment going there. The question is if we can manage to catch Benezia if she hasn't left yet"

"It would seem so. I hope we don't run into too much trouble down there, but we have to remember to try and stay out of the corporate political shit storm that is always going on down there"

"Agreed. I was thinking of bringing Garrus, Wrex, Liara and you with me down to the planet"

"That could work, are you sure it's are good idea however to bring Liara along to see her mother? Chance are we might have to kill her when we find her and I don't know how she will react to that"

"I trust her ability to stay calm. Anything else you think I should know or we should prepare for?"

"Other than be prepared to fight a lot of geth and one hell of a Mako ride out to the research base? Not really. If we keep a lookout we might be able to get Garrus a decent sniper for a good price down there though. The black market is very active out in these parts"

Sarah grinned slightly at the thought of getting some good weapons and perhaps a few upgrade for a good price. It didn't matter that it was from the black market as Noveria was after all a privately owned colony planet so technically if it is legal for the Black Market to sell their gear there, then Sarah could purchase it legally as well.

"If that was all Sarah then I think I will retire back to my ship and try to catch some sleep"

Marc stood up and made to leave when he was stopped by Shepard grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. She then led him over to the bed with a smile before she dropped most of her clothes aside from her underwear and climbed into bed.

Marc just stood with a small grin on his face. Sarah and Sivra were _really_ alike, neither liked to sleep alone if they could avoid it. He quickly removed his own clothes (bar the underwear, of course) and then climbed into bed with her. She snuggled up close to him as he held her close and the two quickly drifted off, both feeling slightly better now that they had someone to share a bed with again.

**A/N: Well thank fucking god that is one more chapter down. I don't know how the hell I managed to do this on time. I have been working on this since I woke up Saturday morning. College really only gives you the weekends to do something in and I damn sure am going to use it on this. Of course I don't know when the next chapter will be out since my schedule is still frantic but for now I am happy to give you all chapter 11.**

**Leave a review if you are felling kind and thank you to all the followers and favorites I have been getting over the past few weeks, your support is really overwhelming. **

**-Bundlejumper**

**PS: Yes Echo/Marc is going to start killing certain "key" people… such is the way of things**


	12. Chapter 12

**Echo's Point of View, Normandy – Shepard's Quarters**

Oh it had been a _long_ time since I awoke and wasn't completely clear on where I had ended up the night before. Yet here I find myself waking up and not being completely sure why my bed is about seven levels softer than it should be. My eyes were heavy and didn't really wish to open so I was forced to use my nose to identify my location.

A trace of almonds reached my nostrils and as if by reflex my eyes opened to the sight of a mop of dark hair that made it quite easy to discern my location. How one forgets you have gotten into bed with a woman I will never understand, how_ I_ forgot I went to bed with _Shepard_ will forever haunt me.

A warmth was nested against my chest and I can't for the life of me remember when the last time was that I awoke with my arm in this state, that is, completely asleep and crushed.

My head was pounding something so fierce and yet I found myself caring none. I did take a little time to adjust to waking up about six hours too early from my sleep cycle but beyond that I feel better than I have in a long time.

It was with practiced motion that I slid my arm out from under Sarah and freed myself from our entanglement. Sadly it seems Sarah's reflexes are equally good when she is asleep because she flipped around and grabbed my arm to pull me down almost as soon as I had gotten free.

I felt a chuckle escape me as I leaned down and kissed her forehead which seemed to move her focus just long enough for me to free myself from her grip once more. She really is a lot like Sivra in that regard, hates to sleep alone… and won't let you go until _she_ wakes up.

I felt my bones give a crack as I stretched and smiled as the usual sense of relief accompanied the sound. I took a quick walk to the bathroom where I more or less got one thing confirmed. The captain of the Normandy has a _really_ luxurious bathroom compared to the one the crew uses. I needed to find a towel but stopped when my face passed by the mirror.

I didn't recognize the man that was looking back at me; there were a few reasons for this. The first and most prominent was that he looked _happy_, I hadn't been happy in years so to look upon myself with a genuine smile on my face was a refreshing feeling. Another reason was perhaps the fact that my eyes were no longer the dark blue it used to be. They had turned grey with a trace of gold.

I shrugged and ignored it simply because there were so many other things that had happened to my body over the years, so I figured this was simply a delayed change from the operation. I finally found a towel and stepped into the shower and let out a relieved sigh as the warm water loosened my tired muscles.

It didn't take long to dry off and then a slightly different problem struck my mind. I didn't bring my clothes with me in here. Not that I mind being seen naked or anything but right here I guess it's more a case of consideration of others.

As if on cue the door opened and Sarah walked in. She looked quite tired but her eyes quickly opened when she realized I was there. Her reaction is something I to this day still find interesting. She simply looked me over before grinning at me and dropping her own clothes and then _strutting_ into the shower and began her own morning routine.

"… I guess we both just saved a lot of time there" I muttered as I rubbed the back of my neck while I left the bathroom.

I got dressed rather quickly and then sat down to wait for Sarah to be ready. We should be heading towards Noveria but according to my omni-tool we were heading for the Citadel.

"'morning"

I looked up at Sarah as she stepped out of the shower with a towel around her body.

"Good Morning" I replied

She went over the closet and pulled out a standard uniform before giving a yawn and got dressed.

"Why are we heading towards the Citadel?" I asked

"Emergency call from the Alliance, we are needed back on the Citadel. It sounded pretty urgent" she replied

I nodded and returned to my reading as she finished getting dressed. If we are heading back to the Citadel because of an emergency call then I am not completely sure about what is going down. This is the problem with making changes to the world, hell, I don't even know if this is the cause of Karick or perhaps this Eric person that Karick needs to find.

"Ready to face the day?" I heard Sarah ask

"For once, yes" I said smiling at her

I followed her out into the cafeteria where we got some food and found a free table and sat down and began to eat. It didn't take long before we had Liara and Ashley join us.

"Morning Ashley, Liara" I said while nodding to each

"Good Morning" was their united reply. We all ate in silence as was the usual now a days. My mind quickly wandered off to a different place. My focus was taking a turn towards some other things, mostly the message I had received down on Feros. Something, _someone_ had left a message to someone like me. Whoever it was I need to find them.

I'll I have to see to that later though, for now it is more important to ensure that we all get through this alive and hopefully follow the events as close as we can. There was other things to consider as well, namely if I needed to save certain people. Virmire is approaching quickly and I have no doubt that I will ensure Wrex's survival. The bigger question is if Sarah decides to save Kaidan will I then go and rescue Ash?

"Marc…. Marc!"

I was shaken out of my thought at Sarah's yell. When I turned to her she had a questioning look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Sarah, I wasn't paying attention" I said

"I asked if you would happen to have any information on what the Alliance might be calling me for" she said

I shook my head "I have no new information. I mostly keep out of the Alliance business these days. You get it to far too much trouble for me to keep track of it all" I replied

"Amen to that" I heard Ash mumble

"I just hope this isn't Udina needing me for some political bullshit" said Sarah

"Just say no if it is. You are a Spectre now Sarah, contrary to what Udina might have told you, from the moment you were given the position you stopped being "human" and became a "Spectre" you live to serve the Galaxy and nothing more" I said in return

Ashley and Sarah looked at me strangely while Liara was nodding her head. She knew that Spectres, though usually siding with their own species in most matters, was in fact not considered to be of one species. Once you become a spectre you give up being of a species and become solely a Spectre that serves every species equally.

"I don't remember being told that when they gave me the job" mumbled Sarah

"Because it's not exactly a written rule. The Specters were originally designed for that purpose but over time it changed since more and more Specters became corrupt or started seeking personal gain. Very few _true_ Spectres have been around for a long time" said Echo in response

"He is right, Commander. Take Ishirah T'Zerev, though she was Asari she judged every case fairly and would not hesitate to punish or accuse Asari should they be involved. Though many tried to find a fault or a case where she might have wrongly accused another species, it never happened" said Liara

Ashley gave out a low whistle that sounded almost like a dog whistle to me, damn sensitive hearing.

"I remember reading about her. Though she fell of the face of the galaxy a few years ago" said Ashley

Liara nodded "She is dead, unfortunately. The reason you might not have heard about it is due to her suspected involvement with the Ghost of Thessia" replied Liara

I saw both Sarah and Ashley still at the mention of that name, naturally it made me curious.

"Who is the Ghost of Thessia?" I asked

Both Ash and Sarah looked at me like I was crazy, at least until Sarah remembered what I told her yesterday.

"I forgot you aren't that up to date. The Ghost of Thessia is…_was_… a soldier that served the Asari military for a long time. His total kill count was never confirmed but from the combined information of the other species it is known that he has killed _at least_ 250,000 people" began Sarah

"Then some 20-30 years ago he suddenly vanished. The Asari military claimed he was dead, killed in action, but none of the other species believed it at the time. He never showed up again and eventually became a legend. And you say Ishirah might have been connected to him?" finished Ashley

"You keep referring to this Ghost as _he,_ I though the Asari was an all-female race?" I asked

Liara nodded her head "We are. Well technically we are mono-gendered and don't identify as either male or female…" the collective groans of all three of us made her go on "But Ghost wasn't Asari, no one except for Asari High Command knows exactly what race he is and how long he has been alive. That is also what made Ishirah so feared, she was often seen on missions with Ghost and eventually it was rumored that the two was in a relationship so seeing one usually meant the other wasn't far away. You can of course understand just what sort fear people felt at the thought of those two being involved in any way" finished Liara

"Incredible. But I am curious, how is her relation to Ghost cause for her own death to be hidden?" I asked

"Because the Asari are trying to wash their hands of Ghost, in recent years they have been claiming that Ghost never actually served the Asari and that they have no connection to him aside from Ishirah. Odd how that can be since Ghost never killed any Asari" said Sarah

"Sounds like a person I would like to meet" I replied

"Why am I not surprised" muttered Sarah next to me

I just laughed before standing up and putting away my dishes, I then made my way back down towards my ship. I had a few more things to work on before we arrived on the Citadel.

* * *

**Third Person point of View, Arriving at the Citadel**

Marc had spent most of the trip back towards the Citadel in his ship fixing the holes that had been made in the Alpha-Frame. More than a few choice swear words had made its way out of the ship and even Wrex had to admit that Marc had a colorful vocabulary.

Apparently the holes made by Geth Shotgun shells are _a lot_ more difficult to remove than just any other bullet hole. Had anyone been listening they would even have heard Marc mutter something about how "they should have advertised how annoying their bullets are in the games" not that anyone would have understood.

"_Echo, we are docking, the team is meeting outside"_

Shepard's voice rang over his Omni-tool. Other than a simple grunt of annoyance Marc didn't reply, he none the less rose up and made his way up to the top level and out of the Normandy to meet the rest of the team. Outside everyone was indeed gathered and only Echo had been missing, so when he got there Shepard could finally start.

"Okay everyone this is a short stay. Ash and Kaidan, you two are coming with me to see just what Udina wants, the rest of you can go resupply or catch up with someone quickly. I'll recall you all once we know what is going on. Dismissed"

Everyone nodded and the few military people answered with a "Yes Ma'am" and then everyone went their separate ways. Echo himself made his way down to the presidium where he planned to walk around until called, he needed the fresh air. Though after a few minutes of walking he noticed he was being followed, and not very professionally either. Ducking into an ally he waited for his follower to reveal himself. It was a human who stepped into the ally and Echo instantly knew that something wasn't right; this guy seemed to be completely gone. A thing further confirmed by the faraway look in his eyes and almost dead walking. The thing that allowed Echo to know exactly who he was standing in front of was however the fact that when he tried sensing the presence of the man in front of him he didn't get one signal, but two.

"So… you finally found me" said Echo

"**How did you find us?**" asked the human in a strangely deep tone

"Doesn't matter" replied Echo

"**How did you find us?**" repeated the human

"It doesn't matter" Echo repeated

"**How did you find us?**"

Echo repeated his answer and the human repeated his question, this went on for a good five minutes before Echo grew annoyed.

"Clearly you aren't the one fully in control. Listen, either you speak to me directly or problems will arise"

"**You dare threaten us?!**" yelled the human

'_There you are'_ though Echo with a grin

"I made no threat. I wish to speak with you, as simple as that" replied Echo

"**We do not need to speak with a lower life form**" said the human

"Think that if you will. Remember that I know your location, and I am not above letting the Reapers know you are still alive" said Echo now slightly angry

"**What is your question?**" asked the human

"I will not speak it here. I know what planet you are on, I will come to you and we can speak face to face" replied Marc as he began walking away

"**We will be waiting**" replied the human before a gunshot rang out through the ally. The human dropped to the ground with a hole in his head and Echo kept walking with his Vasto once more hidden away. _'You might be expecting me but you won't ever be ready'_ thought Echo to himself as he began making his way back towards the Normandy.

On his way there one familiar presence kept following him around. Now he was almost perfectly sure that Karick would have told his "best" student to not get caught when following someone. Credit where credit is due it did take Echo a little while to notice her without looking for her presence but he still found her, thus she failed.

Ducking around a corner and stopping Echo stood and waited. Marie came rushing past in attempt not to lose her mark only to get tripped when a leg suddenly was in front of her own. Echo let out a low sigh as he looked down at his friend's student; she was looking mighty pathetic down there.

"Need a hand getting up?" asked Echo

She grumbled something he didn't understand before standing up and turning towards him with a bit of a glare.

"Fight me" she said

"Excuse me?" replied Echo

"I want you to fight me, for real" she demanded

Echo raised an eyebrow at the girl "Why? If I might ask"

"I wish to see how much closer I am to my master" was her answer

Echo shook his head once before his fist became a blur and Marie's chest collapsed as her sternum broke across between her third and fourth ribs. The pain was so intense that her mind blacked out and she crumbled to the floor leaving a sighing Echo behind.

"Why do the young ones always do this?" he mumbled to himself as he picked her up and leaned her against the wall before opening his omni-tool and calling Karick

"_Hey Echo, need something?"_ asked Karick

"Yeah, I need you to come pick up your unconscious student. Her sternum is broken between the third and fourth ribs. She wanted to see how _close_ she was to her master. Said _Master_ apparently haven't beaten the living snot out of her enough yet" replied Echo

A heavy sigh came from the other end of the call _"Send me your location and I'll be there as soon as I can"_

Echo closed the call and sent the information and then sat down to wait for either Marie to wake up, or Karick to arrive. As it turned out Marie beat Karick to the punch and awoke a few minutes later.

"I wouldn't move if I were you" said Echo once Marie was awake enough to register it.

"What happened?" she asked between bouts of pain

"You asked for my best and I showed you about half of that. Don't ever think you will reach mine or Karick's level. We are leagues and worlds above you" said Echo

"How… how did you become so strong?" she asked

"I trained every day of my life and never stopped. Karick has been at this even longer than me" replied Echo

"So I will never reach you?"

"No"

She looked down in defeat. Echo knew that it was harsh but it was the truth and she damn well needed it. No good would come of her attempting to reach his or Karick's level; she would end up destroying her body in that endless pursuit.

A few minutes of silence passed by before Karick came running towards the pair. When he arrived he looked over Marie for a few seconds before sighing and then pinching her in the neck at a pressure point that made her fall unconscious again.

"Sorry for this" said Karick

"Don't be. She wants to be strong, we respect that" replied Echo

Karick nodded but stopped mid motion when he noticed the eyes of his friend.

"Your eyes…" began Karick

"Yeah they changed. Woke up this morning and they were like this" said Echo

"Do you know what it signifies?" asked Karick

"No, not really" replied Echo

"When your eyes begin their transition to gold it means you are moving into the middle stage of your life. Did you ever look into the eyes of one of the council members?"

Echo shook his head "No. I never even spoke to them. So my eyes are turning gold because I am entering the middle part of my life?"

Karick nodded "Yes. They turn golden when you enter the middle stage of your life and then turn completely white when you enter the last stage of your life. Usually when someone has white eyes they will die within 200 years or so"

Echo's eyes widened slightly, but it matched up pretty well with the age Alcor had guessed at, if Echo was going to live to somewhere around a thousand then he should be entering the middle stage of his life somewhere around 350 and above, which was now.

"Then what about my brother, Arck? He was over a thousand and yet his eyes were still blue" asked Echo

Karick shrugged "Some of you live extremely long. If your brother hasn't already gotten golden eyes then I my best guess would be that he gets them within them quite soon"

"That just goes to show that there is a ton of things I still don't know about the Tenno" said Echo

"There is always more to learn. I will be seeing you my friend, best I get her some treatment before any of the damage becomes permanent" said Karick with a wave

Echo waved back as he watched his friend walk away with his student slung over his shoulder. He seemed very comfortable with the way he was holding her, probably wasn't the first time he had to haul her ass back to their base after a severe beating. With a chuckle Echo began his walk back towards the Normandy.

He was once again interrupted when he turned a corner and suddenly felt a shoulder impact with his own sending both him, and the owner of the opposing shoulder, spinning. Echo barely managed to catch himself and the other person, keeping them both up.

"Fuck, sorry about that mate" said the stranger

Echo looked up and into the strangers eyes and was met with a pair of deep purple irises that actually made him recoil slightly, something about those eyes wasn't right.

"Don't worry about it, I didn't see where I was going" replied Echo with a shake of his head

"Yeah well neither did I. We are both at fault here so let us leave it at that. Good day to you mate" said the stranger before turning and walking away from Echo

Echo just shook his head a little at the stranger. He had been in one hell of a hurry _'He must have a very minor presence for me not to notice him coming around the corner at such a speed'_ deciding to check Echo tried to feel out towards the area the stranger should be in. When he felt nothing he turned around and stared at the retreating back of the stranger and then tried again… still nothing… _'Impossible…'_ thought Echo as his legs began carrying him after the stranger.

The stranger went to various stores and talked to a lot of people over the course of a few hours and no matter where they went or how secluded it was, Echo could never sense the strangers presence. As they hit one of the worst parts of the Wards Echo began thinking this was a futile chase and that he wouldn't learn anything. He followed the stranger around a corner…

*SLAM*

A fist collided with his chest and Echo was sent flying back into the opposing wall. Standing there looking down at him was the stranger he had been following and he didn't look happy.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" asked the Stranger

Echo wanted to reply but he was currently attempting to regain his breath after having it knocked out him. Some coughing and wheezing later and he could finally form some sort of sentence.

"You seemed suspicious after we bumped into each other so I followed you" he said

"Then I highly suggest you stop now, or there will be consequences" said the stranger

Echo had stood up while they spoke and was about to answer when his eyes locked with the strangers again. He couldn't move… something about that man's eyes was definently not right. They were… empty… devoid of all forms of restraint and mercy, and yet there was a strange calm and control there.

He knew these kinds of eyes; he had looked into more than his share like it many times. This man had killed… no… killed can't fully encompass the massacres that this man must have committed to become like this.

"How many?..." croaked Echo

The stranger raised an eyebrow in confusion "How many what?" he asked irritated

"How many have you killed? How many had to give their life for you to become as hollow as you have?" asked Echo in a solemn and defeated tone

The stranger's anger dissipated at his words and he finally took in his follower. The man was pale and tall but nothing else made him especially unique. That is expect for his eyes… he had the same eyes as himself, empty and void of all sense of good and wrong. _'So… this one has gone through the same…'_ he thought to himself as he straightened and turned around and began walking away

"Too many…" was his parting reply

Echo watched as the man turned a corner and disappeared and with him gone, Echo finally calmed and allowed himself to move. How long had it been since he had been scared? Since he had felt the cold grip of fear around his heart, clenching it until his breath stopped? Who in the hell was this man?

*PING* *PING* *PING*

"Echo responding" he said into his omni-tool

"_Marc I need you back here on the Normandy right now! We finished with the briefing and some Batarian extremists are going to smash a meteor into a planet!"_ came Sarah's yelling voice over the omni-tool

"On my way"

All sense of keeping up appearances Echo speed towards the Normandy at an alarming speed, scaring multiple passerby's as a pale blur appeared in their peripheral vision for a split second before it was gone again.

'_This is really shitty timing. I know nothing about the Bring down the Sky missions, I never took the time to play them!'_ turning a corner Echo had to vault over two humans making out, scaring the living shit out of them. _'I can't accompany them on those missions. I need to go see the Leviathans now before it is too late; Sarah's on her own this time'_

Echo's thoughts finished just as he entered the elevator heading up to the Normandy dock.

"Eva; Command Override, increase elevator speed by 200%. Safety restrictions; None"

"_Commencing Override"_

The elevator tripled in speed, Echo still felt it was too slow but any faster and he risked blasting the elevator cart out of the top when he got there. The emergency brakes slammed down to ensure that there elevator actually managed to stop in front of the correct door, which also alerted C-Sec to the problem.

Echo darted from the elevator and bypassed the Normandy decontamination to head straight into the briefing room. Everyone was already gathered there and all them looked like this was serious.

"Finally decided to show did you?" grunted Kaidan

"Shut it Kaidan, we don't have the time" growled Shepard

Taking the hint Echo quickly placed himself against the wall behind Garrus.

"Okay people this one is bad. A few hours ago a ship passing by our colony planet of Terra Nova picked up a distress signal from Asteroid X57. One of the engineers aboard reported that the fusion torches aboard has been reignited and the Asteroid is now heading towards the planet below, according to the engineer it was the Batarians whom attacked and lit the torches. We are on route and should arrive within the hour. Thankfully some security measures activated before the Batarians took control. Had they not activated we would only have around four hours to solve the problem. As it stands we are looking at, from our time of arrival, an estimate of seven hours before the emergency thrusters shut off and the Asteroid is sent hurling towards Terra Nova. Any questions?"

"Why would the Batarians do this now?" asked Ashley

"We don't know. The Hegemony is denying all involvement and is claiming it is a terrorist cell conducting the assault" replied Shepard

"How long until we are at the Mass Relay?" asked Echo

"Another twenty minutes" replied Shepard

"Then I will take my leave" said Echo as he turned and left

Walking straight forward Echo quickly found himself in the elevator and pressed the button for the hangar deck. Right before the door shut Shepard stepped in next to him. Neither one spoke for as long as the ride and the silence remained all the way to the Shadow.

Inside after the doors were sealed words were finally exchanged

"Why do I have the feeling you are about to make me angry?" asked Sarah with a sigh

"Because I am. I won't be accompanying you to X57, I have somewhere else to be" replied Marc with a shrug

Marc didn't have to look to feel the glare on his back. He wisely chose not to turn and instead focus on preparing the ship for launch.

"And _where_, pray tell, is that you need to be?"

Marc stilled slightly as he released a sight and turned around

"*Sigh*… Sarah you have to trust me on this one, I really want to tell you where I am going but I can't. Just know it is related to my… _past_" a light of understanding shone in Sarah's eyes for a moment "I wouldn't leave you to handle something like this alone if what I needed to do wasn't incredibly important. I promise I will meet back up with the team on Noveria when we go for Benezia"

Sarah didn't look completely convinced but she trusted him and believed that he wouldn't lie to her.

"Okay. Just don't get yourself into too much trouble alright?

"Can't promise anything" he was grinning as he spoke

"Of course not…"

She grumbled something else that Marc chose to ignore, mostly because he wasn't sure he wanted to know it.

Sarah left him to do his work and he continued prepping the Shadow for launch. When the Normandy reached the relay the hangar doors slowly began opening.

Echo flew out and got a decent length away from the Normandy so he wouldn't get hit by the feedback from the Relay jump. Once the Normandy had gone through Echo let a sigh escape him

"*Sigh* let's get going Eva, use the Normandy's relay code to send us through to Skepsis and from there fly us to Desponia"

"_Understood, commencing flight_"

Once the jump was complete Echo went into the workshop and began working on the finishing touches on Sarah's sword. Damn thing had already taken too long to finish up.

* * *

**Desponia, planet surface**

Flying over the ocean covered world Echo tried to spot the area from the third game but he wasn't really sure how they were supposed to find it. He had asked Eva to try and track the strange orbs and the signals it had sent out but so far they were having no luck.

"_Are you sure it is here?_"

"Positive. Just keep looking"

A few hours of mindless flight finally saw them picking up a signal and he almost whooped in joy when they approached the platform and he recognized the general look of it, this was finally it. The Shadow approached silently but didn't touch down on the platform itself, Echo didn't trust anything on this planet so he wanted Eva and the Shadow far away just in case.

Landing with a quiet *thump* Echo looked around at the deadly calmness that seemingly inhabited the platform. While walking he noticed the various cots and makeshift housing that had been built, each held one of those spheres in them.

Running his hand along a wall a sigh escaped him "*Sigh* So much wasted life…"

Looking out over the horizon he saw the thunder roaring in the distance and yet that roar never reached here. Not even the sound of the strikes would reach over here, as if something was keeping it away.

"This place is giving me the creeps…"

He muttered to himself as he kept walking between the various houses. Every so often he would come by old pictures that showed that some of the people that lived here had retained a sliver of their minds. The lack of skeletons was worrying at first, though as he finished inspecting the platform he realized that it just might be a good sign.

"_May I make a suggestion?"_ asked Eva

"Of course" replied Echo

"_If these creatures you will be finding present any threat then I would suggest switching to a Warframe fit to fighting them"_

"A good suggestion. Engage Warframe: Nyx, Restriction Level: None"

The Alpha-frame began turning and transforming as it took on the shape of the male Nyx. It much resembled its counterpart with a few exceptions. The Male version was bulkier build for obvious reasons; the helmet also didn't have the crescent going over the head. That had been replaced by two horns going out from the forehead and the curving back over the head and reaching down until the start of the neck.

Echo had been greatly amused by the horns the first time he had seen the male Nyx and had even commented to his friends that all there was left was to give it dark red glowing eyes and they would have themselves a devil. No one of course knew what a classic devil looked like so they just nodded their heads and agreed.

The restriction level was something they had to implant with the Nyx Warframe simply because if they didn't put in a limiter it could cause damage to the operators mind, Nyx did draw directly on your mind to perform its abilities after all.

"_The Nyx, Marc?"_

"Cautionary choice. Leviathans are too big to fight hand to hand and they have a tendency to attempt taking over the minds of what they consider "lesser" races. Well I look forward to seeing them go through the Nyx's mental barriers"

He finally approached one orb and with a deep breath he placed his hand on it. At first nothing happened but soon he felt his mind connect with something on the other end.

"I'm not coming down there so if you wish to speak, come up here"

The words were spoken quickly and the hand jerked back as soon as he was done, no reason in risking getting his mind fried because he held on to the orb a second too long.

Minutes passed by with nothing happening and slowly Echo began suspecting that they wouldn't show… at least he didn't until a heavy rumbling began and the sea began growing erratic as the waves heightened and smashed against his platform.

"So this is what you look like for real huh?"

He mumbled to himself as the giant Leviathan rose from the depths of this world. It certainly was an impressive size, the full size of a reaper if the games were anything to go by.

"Are you going to speak?" asked Echo

A pang of pain registered in Echo's mind as he felt the Leviathan attempt to reach his mind.

"**You made a foolish choice coming here!**" bellowed the Leviathan

The pain grew by the second and soon enough he felt the latent mental barriers of the Nyx give in and his mind became an open book.

The world flickered and he found himself standing on the top of a mountain overlooking a giant forest below, in the center of the forest stood a tower that reached above and beyond the skies.

"*Tsk* not a place I wanted to come visit again…"

He knew the place quite well; it was his mind after all. The tower in the center represented his sanity and understanding of everything. The forest below was what held his anger and brutality, down there everything was a target and no one was spared. Often when he meditated he found himself walking through the forest in attempt to sort through some of his more volatile memories.

Off in the distance he saw something slowly flying towards him. As it approached he recognized the shape and began chuckling as he witnessed a very confused Leviathan trying to make sense of how _it_ got trapped in here and not the other way around.

"You bring me here? To my domain? What a foolish plan"

The words were spoken as the Leviathan came within range. It responded by gazing at its intended target and then switching to stare at the tower. Its gaze turned downward as it looked at the base of the tower and witnessed its weak structure and crumbling foundation… this mind was close to breaking.

"**How can this be? How can one of a lesser race resist me?!**" bellowed the Leviathan

"Does it truly matter?" was Echo's stoic reply

The world flickered once more and soon enough the two beings found themselves standing somewhere unknown to only one of them.

"Where the hell are we now?" asked Echo to no one

He turned to stare at the Leviathan who had turned away from him and was now staring at the large golden gates in front of him; they were slightly ajar which allowed some strange light to escape from the other side.

"**Impossible…**"

And then they were gone, back to standing on the platform with thunder rumbling in the distance and seawater splashing around them. It was a welcome change for Echo as he didn't like being inside his own mind. When he turned towards the Leviathan he saw it inspecting him with a new look in its many eyes.

"**Ascended… to believe that one walks among us again…**"

'_Ascended? What the hell is this crazy squid talking about now?'_ thought Echo privately as he kept staring at the large being. The rumbling returned and two more Leviathans burst from the ocean and stared equally so at him. _'Woah…'_ was his only thought

"**Can it truly be? An Ascended after all these eons?**" asked one of the newly arrived Leviathans

"**It would seem so. Yet I cannot understand how it is possible**" replied the first one

'_Clearly they are talking about me and they keep referring to me as Ascended, a title no doubt that they have granted to someone. The question is simply who… I might know that already though'_

"Does the name "Light Bringers" mean anything to you?" asked Echo

The last Leviathan gazed at him for a few seconds before its entire body moved in something akin to a nod

"**That bastardized title that the lesser race of Prothean gave our Ascended masters**" it replied

'_Great… whoever these Ascended are they sure as hell got around'_

"You claim I am an Ascended and I cannot dispute it, on Feros I encountered a Prothean VI that referred to me as a Light-Bringer so I can only assume what you believe is true"

"**Yet I sense the doubt in your mind**" boomed the first Leviathan

"Because only a minor part of me is Ascended, I am the descended of one and nothing more. Though in light of this new revelation perhaps we can talk?"

It was a long silence that followed as the Leviathans debated between themselves on this new revelation. Had Echo been paying attention he would have noticed how he had begun tapping his fingers on his thigh in a beat he had long since believed forgotten. _'…hooked on a feeling, I'm high on believing…'_ kept running through his mind as his fingers tapped away.

"**We have come to an agreement. Let us in to your mind and we shall talk**" said the second Leviathan

With a nod Echo sat down and crossed his legs as he began meditating, when he felt the familiar push of something against his mental barriers he allowed it to pass.

* * *

When his eyes reopened he found himself standing on the cliff face overlooking the forest once more. Footsteps sounded behind him and as he turned his eyes widened at the sight.

In front of him stood three beings that he didn't know and yet he recognized the shape of them. It was that strange race he had seen in the message he had gotten from Honor back on Feros.

"Perhaps for simplicity's sake we should give ourselves name's so you could refer to us each individually?"

The question was asked by the only visibly female of the group. She had shoulder length brown hair that fell behind her head, her eyes was a brilliant blue that had a strange likeness to a raging sea.

The one standing in the middle with Short spiky black hair and roaring red eyes nodded his consent to the idea. The final one was bald and had a set of completely white eyes; he nodded as well before gesturing towards Echo.

"If that is acceptable to you?" the last one asked

"It would make this entire talk much easier wouldn't it?" joked Echo

"Then you may call me Lily" said the female one

"You can call me Thorn" said the one with black hair

"Finally you may refer to me as Oak" said the bald one

"Lily, Thorn and Oak? What's with the plant inspired names? And three human plants no less" asked Echo

"The Ascended carried names of these variants, we found more examples here inside your mind and took these names in honor of the Ascended" replied Lily

"You have to be joking? The Ascended used names derived from human plants? Far as I remember your species is a few hundred million years older than humanity, so how the hell would the Ascended use names from that planet?" The question was born out of confusion, it didn't make sense.

"We do not question the Ascended or their methods" was Thorn's reply

"I guess not. Let me start by asking just what the Ascended did for your species"

"The Ascended guided our evolution and granted us our first means of interstellar flight, it is through them that we have control over the lesser races minds" Oak had been the one to reply this time

"You say guided… as in did teach you or something?"

"No. They led our evolution, where we would have grown legs in time we instead grew in size until we reached the size we are today, where we should have grown hair we grew scales. Where your species developed lungs and airways we developed gills and internal oxygen generation" Lily replied

"How is that possible?" Echo was now very confused

"The Ascended performed wonders beyond the lesser races comprehension, we will not attempt to explain them" was Oak's angry retort

"Then what about the forms I am currently looking at? I have seen this race before, why use it?" Echo asked

"You have seen this form before?" asked Lily interested

Echo nodded "In a message given to me by one of the Ascended"

"Let us see this message" asked/demanded Thorn

"I don't mind, but how will you see it?" asked Echo

"Think of it and we shall do the rest" replied Lily

Echo did as instructed and soon the entire message he had gotten back on Feros played out around them. It was unnerving to witness it all again, the death and destruction. Though it also put everything strangely into perspective now that he could see the entire thing taking place again.

"The place the darkness never reached…" mumbled Lily

"She speaks of the Ascended home planet. Remember, sister, how she came to us after the cycle we just witnessed. She hid something on that hulking monstrosity of a station the lesser races call "The Citadel" She spoke to us of how it was the key to finding their planet. I suspect that she wishes to meet you, human" said Oak

"Why would she hide something on the citadel for me to find? Does it not seem… strange?" asked Echo

"We do not question the Ascended or their methods" repeated Thorn

"_Brother_" growled Oak "Now is not the time for secrecy or resentment towards the lesser races" his gaze fell back on Echo "We were told long ago that at some point in time one Ascended might come to this world and would need to seek refuse. To this end the first Ascended left behind something on the Citadel that would allow this future Ascended to reach their home planet. I will not attempt to explain how the message you were given seemed meant for you specifically instead of just any of the Ascended but I do know that there are more messages like that one hidden across the universe. Some are in the remaining beacons of the lesser race of the Prothean while others are hidden in the devices of earlier cycles that still hasn't been found"

"This is all… a bit much to take in…" mumbled Echo while rubbing his eyes

"We will not pretend to understand. Though we will implore you to seek out the hidden item on the Citadel and find your way to your home world. But enough with matters of the past and ancient stories, why did you seek us out in the first place, young one?" asked Lily

'_They are certainly more amendable than in the games'_ thought Echo privately as he glanced over the three of them; he had expected quite the different encounter with them.

"Before that, you never answered my question. Why did you take that form?" he asked

"This form is the race that came after us, the first cycle following the creation of the first reaper. We believed it to be a more… calming form for you to interact with then our original form" replied Rose

"I see. Well then the real reason I wished to come into contact with you is to see if I could somehow convince you to join the fight against the Reapers when they arrive in a few years?" he asked with hope

"No" was Oak's short reply

"Why not?" growled Echo

"We have no need to interfere with the cycles, we survive and have no need to interfere" said Thorn

"You have seen countless cycles rise and fall, you have seen the crucible built almost to completion and Lotus knows you could have taken down countless Reapers with your strength! Your bullshit story about survival won't fly with me, I _know_ you can fight!" yelled Echo in rage

The three looked visibly shocked by Echo's apparent knowledge. One of them, Lily, looked towards the tower and stared intensely at it for a few moments before recoiling as if physically struck.

"Brothers…" she said carefully "He speaks the truth… he _knows_… I cannot tell how he knows but here in his mind and his memories the end of this conflict is hidden"

"But how can that be possible?" inquired Oak

"Don't" ordered Echo "Much like you don't wish to inform me of certain things I don't wish to inform you of some. But if I cannot convince you to join our then I know of someone who will. All I ask is then one small token of good faith"

"What would that be, young one?" asked Lily

"I have some people… not many… that I wish cured of Indoctrination. Can you do it?" he asked

Lily nodded "We can. Bring the infected close to one of our artifacts and we can override the Reapers indoctrination with our own and then release them. You may take one of the artifacts before you leave"

"And am I to believe you will do this without wanting anything in return?" asked Echo skeptically

"Only for you to keep your promise and not divulge our location to anyone" replied Lily

Echo nodded "I will tell no one but I cannot stop others from figuring it out"

"That is acceptable. Before you leave, young one it might be best for you to know that your mind is coming apart" said Lily

"I know. You see the sun up there?" he asked while pointing upwards

Lily nodded "I do"

"Once that sun sets my mind shuts down and I turn into a savage monster with mind only for killing and battle. This goes on until the sun rises once more and so the cycle repeats itself. The tower in the center of the forest over there… the damage at the foundation only increases with each cycle" finished Echo

"So you are aware of you condition?" Echo nodded "Then I will not have to warn you to watch it carefully" said Lily

"No, but thank you for the sentiment none the less"

Lily gave a nod "Now depart our world, young one. We shall meet again"

As Lily's words were spoken the world around them disappeared and they were back on the wrecked ship with rain rumbling down around them. Echo watched as the three Leviathans disappeared down into the depths of the ocean once more before turning around and grabbing the nearest orb and calling the Shadow back down.

"Prepare a stasis field and lockdown, Eva. This orb has a terrible influence on those that come into close contact with it"

"_Understood, on route to pick up_"

Echo turned to look out towards the water and watched the rolling waves and roaring thunder and couldn't help but compare it to his own mind.

"Chaotic and yet seemingly able to somehow hold peace" he mumbled as he watched the Shadow descend from the skies to pick him up.

Once back aboard he placed the orb in a stasis field and locked of that section of the Shadow so its influence hopefully wouldn't reach beyond it. Though after his conversation with the three he didn't think they would just randomly take over the people that came into his ship.

"_Where are we headed now?_" asked Eva

"Head towards the relay and get us to Noveria as quickly as possible. We have already left Benezia alone for way too long and I have no inclination to find out just how much trouble we are in for leaving her alone this long" replied Echo

He walked over and placed the Alpha-Frame in its container before stepping over to his bed and dropping all his clothes and them promptly slammed into the bed.

"Wake me up when we are approaching Noveria or if the Normandy tries to contact us"

"_Understood. Goodnight, Marc_"

* * *

**Approaching Noveria**

"_..up_"

A feint voice registered in his ears…

"_wake up…_"

The voice grew ever so slightly louder…

"_If you don't wake up within the next five seconds…_"

He flipped over in his bed while ignoring the offending sound attempting to wrestle him from his comfortable bed and the first peaceful dream of the decade.

"_You asked for it… loading voice recording 0034-X23._"

Wait… recording 0034-X23 isn't that? _'Shit!'_

"_MARC B. ********* YOU GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT OF BED BEFORE I COME IN THERE AND GET IT OUT FOR YOU!_" screamed the voice of Sivra

Marc shot out of bed like a bat out of hell and stood straight as an arrow

"I'm up! I'm up!" he yelled on reflex

As his heart began going back down to a regular beat he looked around and realized that he was inside the Shadow and that he had in fact just been woken up in the most uncomfortable way he knew… getting yelled at by his wife.

"That was a cruel way to wake me up, Eva"

"_Apologies, you simply refused to awaken. We have reached Noveria and the Normandy is currently awaiting us_"

'_Note to self: Remove that audio file from her databank'_

"Approach and ask for boarding permission"

"_Seeking Permission… … … … Permission granted, commencing boarding_"

Echo entered his workshop with a nod as he pulled out Sarah's blade from its locker. The damn thing was finally finished and had come out looking exactly like a regular Nikana with the addition of a full hollow circle between the blade and the handle (Dragon Nikana basically) it was strong and well balanced, though it didn't match its older brother and inspiration, the Nikana.

The mild shaking of the Shadow alerted him to their landing inside the Normandy and minutes later a small ping let him know that the hangar was once more pressurized and he could step outside without having his lungs collapse. Grabbing the new blade as well as his own Nikana he stepped up to the door and took a deep breath.

"So it begins anew again. One teacher, one student. One shall wield a blade forged in ancient times, One shall wield a blade forged in acceptance. One shall impart knowledge, One shall receive it… … One shall strike first and miss, One shall dodge the first or die"

Though the phrase might seem strange it was a necessity. He had known when he began forging the blade that this was how it had to be… just like his previous students. His students… the seven he had thought in his tenure as a Grand Master had all eventually mastered the way of the Nikana and had received their own recovered Nikana as a sign of their mastery. Up until they were given one of their own they would have to use a blade forged by their teacher and master, hence why Echo had to learn how to forge weapons.

He could sense Shepard out there alongside a Turian and a Krogan, meaning Garrus and Wrex were with her for some reason. _'No matter, she will pass the test or die… no exceptions'_ he thought as his eyes hardened and seemingly glazed over as he entered what could best be described as his "Tenno persona"

The door opened and he stepped out and locked eyes with Sarah who looked happy enough to see him again, at least until she got a really good look at his eyes and realized that something was off. The blade sailed through the air towards Sarah and she grabbed it out of the air just in time to register movement out of her eye.

It was by a hair's length that the blade sailed over her head, literally, a few strands of hair was cut as Echo's Nikana sailed over her head. As if on instinct she drew the blade from its scabbard and entered a stance in preparation for a fight. Though all she saw once she had entered her stance was Echo placing his blade back down into its scabbard.

"You passed" he said

"Passed?! You just tried to kill me!" Sarah yelled in retort

"I did and you dodged, you passed" he repeated

"Give me one good reason I should kill you where you stand?!" she yelled

"One: You are not nearly skilled enough to kill me on your own. Two: Had you not dodged I would have stopped the strike. Three: You love me" the last one was added with a grin

"And right now I am considering number three was a very stupid idea" she grumbled

"Well get used to it, something tells me you will think that a few more times in the coming years" he joked

"Would someone explain to me what the hell just happened?" asked a confused Garrus

"See the blade in her hand?" asked Marc to which Garrus nodded "I forged it for her. Through tradition with the Tenno we only forge a blade for someone when we have accepted them as a student of the blade. The tradition also states that the first time she touches her blade I am honor-bound to try and strike her down. If the student fails to dodge they die and wouldn't have been worthy to learn the art of the blade"

"But you just said you would have stopped the strike" countered Garrus

"I would have. Sarah is not Tenno and as such she isn't bound by those traditions, only I am. Had she not dodged I would have stopped the strike and refused to teach her how to wield her blade, she would have had to figure it out on her own" Marc summarized

"You said that the first time I touched the blade you were honor-bound to try and strike me down… is that why you threw it?" asked Sarah

Marc nodded "Indeed it was. By throwing the blade I allowed you a chance to see it coming while also giving you the opportunity to observe me. Had I followed tradition I would have handed you the blade and then drawn my own at the same time. But as I said, you aren't Tenno so I can bend the rules a little" he finished jokingly

"Well… thanks I guess" she muttered

"No problem. Perhaps we should speak in private about both our missions?" he asked

"Right. Garrus, Wrex, dismissed" she ordered

The two left the hangar and left the two alone as they entered the Shadow and sat down which allowed Sarah to finally let out a sigh of relief

"*Sigh* finally somewhere where I know no one can overhear my conversation or listen in or… anything"

"That happen while I was away?"

"Once or twice. So how did your mission go?"

"Not perfect I will admit. I was partially successful in bringing us some potential allies against the Reapers when they show up but for now they remain on the fence about the idea"

Sarah's eyebrow rose a little "Sounds promising. Get anything else out of your little trip?"

Marc's grin was almost enough to tell her that indeed he had gotten something.

"I might have, for now though I will keep it to myself and will bring it out when I feel the time is appropriate"

"More secrets?"

"Only for a little while"

"I'm holding you to that you know"

Marc's grin let her know that he expected nothing less

"So how did it go with the Batarians?" he asked

"It was a hell but we stopped them. The Hegemony is still claiming that they had nothing to do with it but that group was way too well equipped for them not to have been funded by someone, and I know no one who would ever fund batarian extremist but batarians themselves" she replied

"Politics were never my forte. From what I know of the batarians they are not a much respected race"

'_Not that it matters, most of them will be dead before the reapers arrive'_ he thought as images of the various batarian catastrophes played from his memories.

"They are war mongers and have a thing for killing anyone they believe entered their territory. Doesn't help that most of them are criminal scum and mercs that half the galaxy has a problem with"

"Well… enough about that, you stopped them and everything is okay for now. What's our game plan on Noveria?"

"I'm bringing Wrex, Liara, Garrus and you with me down to the planet. From there I guess we have to work our way forward"

Marc gave a nod "You sure it's a good idea to bring Liara along? I mean this is her mother"

"I trust in her judgment. Any last minute details about the planet?"

"Not really. It's cold as hell and beyond that you just need to remember that your Spectre rank means jack all down there"

"Yes so you keep reminding me. Think we are going to face problems?"

"Perhaps, I would suggest we watch out as to not get involved with any of the local politics"

"Think that will happen?"

"Wouldn't surprise me. There is always something under investigation down there by Internal Affairs"

"*Sigh* why can't this ever be easy?"

"Because life would be boring if it was easy"

"You sound like you enjoy this"

"I'm a fighter, haven't known anything else for the past three hundred years so sue me for finding fighting thrilling"

"You know I still find it hard to believe that you are from a different Dimension entirely, makes you wonder whatever Ash might be right about there being a god… or something at least"

"I don't believe in god myself but whatever helps the good miss Williams get through her time as a soldier, I won't judge. As for how I got between dimensions? If I am to believe a friend of mine then I was moved by someone, though he was a bit vague about who"

"And what would your friend know about that?"

"He was moved just like me"

"You're kidding right?"

"No, wish I was though"

"There's more like you out there?!"

"Just one… I think"

"You think?... *Sigh* well at least it is just one"

"He also happens to be much more skilled than me and capable of feats I still can't recreate. The "Presence" as you named it, I learned it from him"

"*Twitch* You have to be shitting me!? Not just two of you but the other one is even worse? Please tell me he is on our side?"

"For as long as it benefits him, sure. Don't worry though; he wouldn't gain anything by helping the reapers or anyone else for that matter"

"So he just helps himself?"

"Not really. All he has ever done is for revenge, then he came here and was given a mission which he is now trying to complete. Should helping us benefit this mission then he will help us"

"And if we become a danger to his mission?"

"In that case we would have the fight of our lives on our hands. Don't worry though; we are doing nothing in regards to his mission so at most we would meet by coincidence"

"That… doesn't make me feel any better about this"

"Wasn't meant to"

Marc perked up for a second as he glanced towards the door, Garrus was moving towards them.

"Right, the sniper" Marc mumbled

"Sniper?" Sarah asked

"Yeah, Garrus is here to borrow my sniper until we can replace his broken one"

"Don't forget about the weapon you promised I could borrow as well"

"*Sigh* Trust me I haven't forgotten… just… don't overdo it with whatever weapon you choose okay?"

"You make it sound like I am some gun slinging madwoman…"

"I have seen you on the shooting range, you _are_"

Garrus entered just in time to see Marc stand up and move towards his weapons locker. He walked over next to him and watched as Marc pulled out a wicked looking sniper that had Garrus almost drooling.

"The Vectis Single shot sniper rifle with near perfect accuracy. One shot from this and nothing else should be needed. If you aim just right then getting down two to three guys in a line isn't completely impossible"

As if to prove a point Marc cocked the sniper and smiled in Garrus direction.

"*Gulp* it's beautiful" Garrus mumbled as he reached for it with shaky hands

"Indeed it is, though you have to promise me one thing Garrus"

"Yeah sure, anything" his eyes never left the gun

"Take good care of it… it was my wife's"

Garrus withdrew his hands as if the Sniper was on fire… that was a little bit more than just a regular cool sniper. This had personal meaning to Marc and to think that he was actually borrowing it to him? Damn he must trust him an awful lot to even let him near it.

"You sure? I mean doesn't this mean a lot to you?"

"'Course it does, but I trust that you will take good care of it. Besides this one doesn't have a heat clip that can overheat"

"Then you better show me how use it"

It took a while but eventually Marc managed to explain everything to Garrus about how the Vectis worked and how to clean and maintain it after us. Garrus then left a happy turian and Sarah left to direct the landing down on Noveria leaving Marc alone with his thoughts for a few moments before touch down.

"_Which Warframe will you be using for this mission?_" asked Eva

"Noveria is an ice planet… seems stupid to use anything but the Frost"

"_I Agree. May I suggest using the natural cold on the planet to power the Frost in periods of low energy?_"

"A favorable suggestion, thank you Eva"

"… _You're welcome_"

* * *

The landing on Noveria thankfully went without a hitch; they had gotten permission faster than anticipated and was now departing the Normandy. As they stepped off the ship Echo cracked his neck

"Engage Warframe: Frost" he spoke

The Alpha-Frame began shifting until the ice oriented Warframe "Frost" was standing there, though it was made to control ice it had an internal heating system as to allow the operator to survive his own attacks.

"Different one again?" joked Shepard

"Well it's an ice planet, figured an ice Warframe would serve a good purpose here" replied Echo

"Damn place is freezing though" muttered Garrus

"Internal heating" said Echo with a grin

"Fuck you…" mumbled Garrus again

Though Echo kept glancing to every which side constantly, as if he was waiting for something to come flying.

The team continued onward for a short time until they came across three people waiting for them, from their armor and weapons it was easy enough to figure out that they were security. Though their faces was familiar to only one on the team.

"That's far enough" said the Asian looking woman

"Don't worry, we are not here to cause any problems" said Shepard

"This is an unscheduled arrival, I need your credentials" continued the Asian woman

"I'm a Spectre, my name is Shepard" replied Shepard

"That's a load of bullshit, ma'am" said the blonde standing next to the Asian woman

"We will need to confirm that, also I must advice you that firearms is not permitted on Noveria. Sergeant Sterling secure their weapons" ordered the Asian woman

"With pleasure, ma'am" replied the Blonde

Echo took a single step forward "I have a better idea, _**Freeze**_"

**A/N: Late, late, late, late this is sooo fucking late. Apologies people but you know, school and stuff. So we got around the Leviathans for now, Noveria will be the next chapter (Obviously).**

**I know that I have a knack for going pretty fast with certain things but that is simply how I write and how I am, so my apologies to those of you that think the Leviathan bit should have filled more.**

**Also as you might have noticed down there in the latter half of the chapter I once more did a little experiment of mine. I tried to write conversation with two people without all the "He/She Said" bits, I hope you guys can follow the conversation simply by knowing that each person speaks in turn.**

**Righto I will depart once more, adios.**

**-BundleJumper**


	13. Chapter 13

"Was that really necessary?" drawled Shepard

"*Shrug* Probably not, doesn't mean it didn't save us a bit of trouble" replied Echo

"Maybe, but you can bet it will bring us trouble anyway" muttered Garrus

"When has he done something that didn't?" mused Liara

"Wouldn't have half the fun if he didn't!" barked Wrex with a laugh

"What is this? Poke fun at Echo day?" grumbled Echo

"No, but good idea. I think I'll introduce it during the next meeting" said Shepard with a smile

Echo threw his hands in the air while mumbling some obscenities that the others couldn't hear through the sound filter in his helmet. Though the fun wouldn't mask the truth of the fact that Echo's little stunt would without a doubt land them in some sort of trouble with the locals.

"Why am I looking at three of Mr. Anoleis security guards transformed into popsicles?" asked a female voice

Everyone turned to stare at the woman dressed in red, from her stance alone it was easily visible how she carried herself with dignity. In another display of humor (and betrayal if one asks Echo) everyone simultaneously lifted their hands and pointed towards him making the entire scene look like the grade school playground.

"I have you to thank for my three latest ice sculptures?" asked the woman with a raised eyebrow

"Indeed it is. What brings Mr. Anoleis secretary all the way here?" asked Echo in return

"I deal with all new arrivals on Noveria, I was sent here to walk you through. Your spectre status came back positive so you are allowed to carry weapons, Commander" replied the woman

"And who might you be?" asked Shepard

"My name is Gianna Parasini, I am Mr. Anoleis personal assistant as your companion pointed out. May I ask what business has brought you to Noveria?" inquired Parasini

"Spectre business, has anyone suspicious come through here in the past few days?" asked Shepard

"Everyone who passes through here is suspicious, Commander" drawled Parasini "Though if you mean unique then yes, an asari matriarch, Benezia, passed through here a couple of days ago" replied Parasini

"Wait, Benezia is here?" interrupted Liara

"I should believe so, she left for peak 15 a couple of days ago and hasn't returned to my knowledge" said Parasini

"How do we get to peak 15?" asked Shepard

"You will have to ask Mr. Anoleis for a garage pass then take a Mako there, though with the current blizzard going on I wouldn't recommend any form of travel" replied Parasini

"Be that as it may we need to get to peak 15. How do we get to the Anoleis office?" interrupted Echo

"His office is at the top of the elevator and to the left. If you have any questions then please come find me there" said Parasini

"Thank you" replied Shepard

"Before you leave" interrupted Parasini "Could I trouble you to defrost our head of security?"

Echo snapped his fingers and everyone watched as the ice surrounding the three security guards slowly began melting.

"I highly suggest getting them medical assistance, I haven't seen anyone survive more than ten minutes after coming out of that before dying of Hypothermia" said Echo as the team walked away

The team took the elevator up and stepped out into the port. It was easy to see that this place was a corporate mine field as everyone was rushing back and forth while yelling all sorts of things regarding their respective businesses.

"Any idea where to start?" asked Shepard towards Echo

"I would suggest going through the market first, better we sort out our gear before heading into potential trouble" he replied

"You mean the trouble _you_ most likely caused?" taunted Shepard

"Yeah, yeah…" was Echo's muttered reply

The group moved towards the market and started looking around; besides the outrages prices and insane items they found, nothing else really caught their interest. Though Shepard was quite sure that if this planet still fell under Citadel law she would have had to arrest just about anyone that they had met so far… had these people never heard about subtly?

"Mr. Echo…" came a voice

Everyone turned to stare at the owner of said voice whom turned out to be a Drell.

"I cannot say I know who you are, but you clearly know me" said Echo

"My employer has forwarded your picture to us all so that we would know whom to show our special stock to. Do you wish to browse?" asked the Drell

"So you work for the Shadow Broker?" asked Echo

"I never said such a thing, though my employer has showed a certain fondness for such a name" replied the Drell

"Whatever, show me your stock" said Echo

The Drell guided them into his shop where he brought out a few cases and presented them to the group. With each one getting opened Garrus more and more felt like he was in heaven, these were weapons you couldn't get in any legal way.

"And for my most interesting item" began the Drell as he opened the final case which almost made Garrus squeal "The M-56 Widow, latest in the Widow Sniper Rifle Series and by far their most dangerous creation to date"

Echo took the sniper and inspected it for a few short moments before his gaze fell back on the Drell

"I will not ask how the Shadow Broker suddenly came into possession of M-56es but I'm sure that it was somehow related to the favor I did him four months ago" said Echo

The Drell nodded "Indeed Mr. Echo, which is why my employer asked me to provide you with one, free of charge. Call it a show of good faith"

"Tell your employer that he has my thanks. Now do you have anything else interesting to show me?" inquired Echo

"Well… I recently came into possession of some unique armor" replied the Drell a little unsure

"Your shaking, Drell. What is it about this armor that worries you?" asked Echo

"The manufacturer is not well known for handing them out so it could potentially see you get targeted by some undesirables whom are after it themselves" replied the Drell

"This manufacturer wouldn't happen to be a supplier to the Alliance Special Forces would they?" asked Echo in a bored tone

The Drell nodded "Indeed they do, but you see their armor is very sought after among the other races as well"

"Of that I have no doubt. Show me" ordered Echo

The Drell went into the back and soon came back with a cart which held quite a number of crates, the Drell offloaded the first one and placed it in front of the team before opening it to reveal the armor inside. Shepard recognized it almost instantly

"Hahne-Kedar Shadow Works armor… how the hell did you get this?" asked Shepard in an angry tone

"My employer sent this, and the remaining six armor's, to me a few weeks ago with a message stating that someone would be passing by that might show interest in it" replied the Drell

"Drell… please tell me that the remaining six armors doesn't fit a Krogan, Turian, Quarian, Asari and two humans?" asked Echo in an almost pleading tone

"My apologies Mr. Echo but that is exactly what they do" replied the Drell

"Just… just add it to my tab will you? And send message to your employer for me" said Echo tiredly

"Of course Mr. Echo, anything you wish" replied the Drell with a nod

"Tell him that the next time he feels like one-upping me and doing me a favor before I even asked for one, I will find him and skin his ass alive" said Echo darkly

"*Gulp* of course Mr. Echo I will relay the message once our business is complete, now is there anything else besides the M-56 and the seven armors?" asked the Drell in a shaky tone

"No… no this is all, you have my thanks Drell" said Echo

The Drell nodded before he placed the now closed armor container back on the cart along with the M-56. The cart was then handed over to Echo who rolled it out of the shop before stopping near a bench and sitting down with a heavy sigh.

"Okay… someone explain to me what the hell just happened?" asked Garrus

"I do believe Echo just secured us all new Armor and a replacement sniper for you, Garrus" replied Liara in an amused tone

"AND I just added about who the fuck knows how much to my tab with the Shadow Broker" added Echo in a defeated tone

"How does one even get a _tab_ with the Shadow Broker?" asked Garrus now also amused at Echo's plight

"Keep swapping favors back and forth and then lose track. He and I eventually decided to simply open up a credit tab for me. Now each time I buy something from one of his merchants or he gives me information we add to the tab, if I do him a favor he takes an amount of credits off the tab according to the importance of the information. Lucky me that I was somewhere between two million and three million credits in the positive before this entire thing… probably somewhere in the red now" the last bit was muttered in annoyance

"Any reasons this hasn't come up in any of our conversations?" asked Sarah

"Yes, it is not a thing I like to advocate. You are a spectre and are legally required to pursue all evidence towards the Shadow Broker for his illegal activities. Had I told you, you would have had to follow the lead and so on" replied Marc

"But I know now" she countered

"We are not in Citadel space right now" Marc responded

A sly grin spread across Sarah's face "What happens outside of Citadel space?" she began

"Stays out of Citadel Space" finished Marc with a grin

"You two are insane" mumbled Garrus

"Does that mean you don't want the M-56 that I just got you?" asked Marc in a sing song voice

"I never said that!" yelled Garrus as he grabbed the case and held it tight which started the team on a round of laughter

"For now I think you guys should go get changed, the shields and armor on those things are ways above what you are currently using" said Echo as he pointed towards a changing area

"Why does a place like this have a changing area?" wondered Liara out loud

"Please… a place where nothing but two faced corporate business people runs around? They swap suits more times in a day then we blink" replied Shepard

"A disturbing truth… off you go, I will return to the Normandy with the spares" said Echo as he dumped four boxes on the ground and began walking back towards the elevator that lead to the dock

The team watched him as he walked and each had their own thoughts that they kept to themselves as they began walking towards the changing area. Once inside all four quickly got into their new armor and began moving around to get a feel for them… they fitted waaaay to well.

"Fits a little to perfectly don't they, Shepard?" asked Liara once both were outside

"Yes they do, just what kind of information does the Shadow Broker have on us?" asked Shepard to no one

"All the information he needs" grumbled Wrex as he stepped outside

"This is going to take a while to get used to, new armor and new gun… why is this a bad place again?" asked Garrus

The sound of a large group of footsteps rumbling down the area alerted the group as they watched a full platoon of guards heading towards the elevator area.

"You don't think?" began Garrus

"He has only been gone for five minutes" continued Liara

"That's more than enough for him" finished Shepard as the team began running after the guards

They followed them to the elevator where the entire platoon was waiting with weapons drawn and aimed towards the elevator entrance. Once the doors opened a completely calm Echo walked out while whistling, at least until he noticed the amount of guns pointed in his direction which interrupted his little whistling session.

"What did I do?" he asked

"Put any weapon you have on the ground and step forward slowly!" called one the guards

Shepard moved forward and grabbed one the first guards by his neck and lifted him up so he was standing and facing her.

"Spectre Shepard" she introduced herself "the hulking piece of armor there is with me"

"Sorry ma'am but even if he is with you then that doesn't excuse blasting apart our weapon's scanner" replied the Guard

Shepard turned her gaze towards Echo "You did what?" she asked

"That wasn't my fault you know" he defended

"We have you on tape shooting both scanners!" yelled the guard

"Then perhaps your security guard down there shouldn't have asked me to relinquish my weapons when it hasn't even been ten minutes since he saw me entering with weapons permitted" replied Echo

"How does that justify blowing up our weapons scanner?!" yelled the guard in annoyance

"Figured it would give him something else to do besides bothering me" said Echo with a shrug

"I…I…" the guard was completely speechless… that made no sense…

"Hey if it bothers you that much I'll pay for it" said Echo as he began walking forward

"Lieutenant, you and your men are dismissed" came the voice of Parasini

"But ma'am…" tried the guard

"_Dismissed_. As for you, we will be sending a bill to the Normandy" said Parasini as she turned and left again

Once they were alone again Shepard turned a question glance towards Echo, her usually wouldn't go about destroying shit just because it was annoying.

"So what is the real reason for blasting those scanners?" asked Shepard

"Eva found signs of Geth programming in them. Whoever passed through that port infected their systems with the code, this code allowed them to view just who came into the port with what weapons" replied Echo

"Which means Benezia knows we are here and what we are carrying weapons wise" grumbled Shepard

"Yes, though the Armor and M-56 was bought after entering so with a little luck we can still catch her off guard with our improved equipment" said Echo

"Anyway… let's get going to Anoleis office, we need to see about that garage pass" ordered Shepard

The team followed closely behind as the now fully armored group walked towards the administrator's office. Of course seeing four individuals walking around in Hayne-Kadar Shadow Works armor with a sixth one wearing a high tech armor in the same color scheme walk around did turn a few heads which made Echo grumble to himself about painting large targets on their backs.

As they stepped into the office of Anoleis they all noticed just how flat the entire building actually was visually speaking. The walls were flat and a dull grey color, what little actual color could be found came from the various plants that no one could really tell were real or fake.

"Commander Shepard" greeted Parasini

"We would like to speak to Anoleis please" replied Shepard

"One moment" Parasini reached down and pressed a button on her desk "Mr. Anoleis, Commander Shepard is here and wishes to speak with you"

"_Send her in_" replied Anoleis voice over the com

"Go right ahead, Commander"

Shepard gave a court nod and walked towards Anoleis office with the team right at her heels. When they entered the office the entire team noticed how this place was somehow even more boring looking than the corridors outside.

"You'll excuse me if I don't stand up. I don't have time to entertain the refugees from that urban plight called earth" said Anoleis without looking up from his terminal

"I'm here as a council Spectre, not a human do keep that in mind" Shepard retorted angrily

"Believe me, it's foremost on my mind. This greeting is but a courtesy I will only cooperate as required by the executive board. Businesses come here to avoid the second-guessing of galactic law" drawled Anoleis

"Be that as it may I am conducting an investigation in regards to galactic security. I think your _Executive Board_ has a small stake in that as well" replied Shepard

"Everything is a matter of galactic security. But I will not allow you to harass our clients, this world is private property" continued Anoleis

"If you will excuse me I will go calm down before I do something I regret…" muttered Shepard angrily as she turned and walked away

Most of the team followed her out and in the end only Echo and Anoleis was left in the room… good thing Anoleis couldn't see the smirk beneath his helmet…

Outside with Parasini the team was watching with a bit of amusement as Shepard was slowly pacing back and forth while muttering to herself about business politics and bullshit excuses and a few other choice subjects that had nothing to do with the current situation but hey, one might as well get if off their chest while they can.

"She seems… displeased…" said Parasini

"I do believe the good commander has a minor issue with politics" replied Liara with a smile

"I see… but if this is about a garage pass, then I might have an alternative way for you to acquire one" Parasini muttered

"Please don't say it involves dealing with more corporate assholes?" begged Shepard in a whiny tone

"Well… Lorik Qui'in isn't an "asshole" per say… he can be a mighty ass once in a while yes but most of the time he is a rather nice gentleman who understands subtly…" replied Parasini with a slightly shaky voice

"*Grooooan* fuck me seven ways to Sunday, why is this world so bloody annoying?" asked Shepard with a slight bit of insanity in her eyes… she really didn't like politicians or corporate people.

"…try working here…" muttered Parasini "You can find Mr. Qui'in at the bar where he is most likely getting awfully drunk"

Before anyone had a chance to give their confirmation to Miss Parasini the doors to Mr. Anoleis office opened and Echo stepped out very slowly. When Shepard realized that they had left Echo _alone_ with Anoleis she began swearing profusely in her head.

Echo walked up calmly and turned his head towards Parasini before nodding his head slightly in greeting.

"Is there somewhere I could get outside? A viewing platform perhaps?" asked Echo in an ice cold tone

"Yes there is. Take a left once you exit and keep going and you should come to one of our balconies. Though with the blizzard going on I wouldn't suggest going outside" replied Parasini in confusion

"The cold matters not to me, I simply need to get away before I do something that I will most sorely regret" stated Echo as he walked out the door and out of sight from everyone.

"Soo… is Anoleis still alive?" asked Garrus after a while

"I think so… Mr. Anoleis is so paranoid that he has an alarm system rigged to his personal health. Should he die I wouldn't be getting any silence out here for at least a month" replied Parasini

"Yes well… thank you for the help Miss Parasini. We better go after him to ensure earlier events doesn't repeat themselves" said Shepard

Parasini nodded and watched as the team left through the door. The team then followed the same path as Echo and quite quickly found him… or at least they found a large group of people all staring in the same direction, same thing.

As they approached they looked beyond the crowd and out through the sealed doors and saw Echo standing leaning against the railing. That in itself was not that strange, no what was strange was the fact that the winds were howling around him in an almost angry fashion and he was simply standing at the core of it resembling a man who was sleeping.

Shepard pushed through the crowed until she finally arrived at the door. Snapping on her helmet she opened the first set of doors and waited until it sealed again before the other door opened allowing the icy winds to slam into the small room and almost knock Shepard back.

She put up a small fight as she walked through the wind but once she was standing behind Echo everything was calm and her Omni-tool was actually telling her that it was a rather normal temperature at her current location. She removed her helmet and sure enough it wasn't hot in any way but not cold enough to be uncomfortable either…

"So what got you riled up?" she asked

Echo didn't answer at first as he kept his gaze firmly planted at something off in the distance. A loud creaking sound rang out through the balcony and Shepard looked down to see the railing beginning to freeze under Echo's grip and soon enough they shattered from the sheer force that Echo was gripping them with.

Shaking his hands lightly Echo sighed as he disengaged his helmet and turned towards Shepard.

"I really didn't think anyone was in existence that could push so many of my buttons in such a short amount of time, but that little piece of shit Anoleis certainly managed it…" he growled in response to her earlier question

"Hey he pissed me off as well, though I am curious as to why you stayed behind"

"I hoped that I could convince him with a few well-placed threats or deals, but the man is so firmly in the belief that the sun shines out of his ass that I couldn't get anything past his thick head"

"Sounds familiar…" she grumbled "So you just needed to come out here and play snow-god for a few moments?"

"Snow-god?" Shepard made a gesture around her in an unspoken answer "Ah… yeah the Frost was always temperamental. Connecting a Warframe to you're the primary emotion sector of your brain really wasn't all that genius now that I think about it"

"*Shrug* if you are ready to go back inside we need to go see a fellow named Lorik Qui'in supposedly he can provide us with a garage pass"

"Right… let's just get this mission over with so I can go back and beat the stuffing out of something in the gym…"

"I thought you would be giving me lessons on how to use my new sword when we got back?"

"Right… forgot that… trying to slash you to pieces might work as a good stress relief as well"

"Or we could go a few rounds and then we could both get rid of some stress?"

"… also acceptable"

The couple walked back inside with their passive faces back in place but both feeling a lot better than after they had a taste of Noveria politics… though they were headed straight for another portion… urgh…

The rest of the team had been looking on passively as the two were talking. Garrus was focusing half on the two and the rest on the crowd around them. Wrex was ignoring everyone and was simply waiting for them to move on. Liara was curious about the two simply because of her own relationship with Ashley, a thing that Garrus picked up on.

"So Liara… you and the Gunnery Chief?" asked Garrus

Liara stiffened slightly as she felt her cheeks heat up slightly, a small nod was all the answer she could muster.

"Huh… oh well, nice to see everyone getting along. What about you Wrex? You found some sweet little human on the Normandy?" Garrus joked

"Hah! I think they would break at the sight Turian. No I have no intention of finding anyone but a fertile female Krogan to have a few healthy warriors with" replied Wrex

"Fair is fair I guess" said Garrus

"When are you and the little Quarian going to stop dancing around each other?" asked Wrex while staring out towards the frozen tundra

"Ehh… what?" asked Garrus now slightly confused

"I have seen the way you two look at each other when she comes down into the armory. I don't understand why you are being so careful around each other, simply ask the girl out and be done with it" commented Wrex with a shrug

Garrus stood speechless and was doing everything in his might to look everywhere but at Wrex or his general surroundings, though this caused him to miss the small nod and smile that Wrex sent in Liara's direction and the gentle smile and mouthed "Thank you" that Liara sent back in return.

At that moment Echo and Shepard decided to rejoin them. Of course Echo looked on in amusement as Garrus looked utterly confused with himself and Liara was blushing and yet Wrex looked completely calm.

"Having fun Wrex?" asked Echo

"Just keeping busy while waiting" replied Wrex

"Stow the humor and let's go deal with Qui'in" ordered Shepard

The team fell into step behind her and followed her through the small port area. They got odd glances from just about anyone and it quickly began grating on everyone's nerves, even Liara adapted a rather annoyed expression at the constant stares.

Inside the elevator everyone let out a sigh of relief now that they were finally away from the stares even if it was only for a short moment.

The bar they found was certainly a step above the kind that the crew would usually visit, at least in the sense that no one was being thrown around or threatened with violence here. No here the threats were more subtle and the violence was on business scale.

"How far up their asses do you think these guys keep their poles?" asked Wrex in amusement

"Far enough for it to have pushed the shit out of their mouth" replied Echo in equal amusement

"Anyone see this Lorik Qui'in fellow?" asked Shepard

"Drunk off his ass turian?" inquired Garrus

"Yep" replied Shepard

"Right over there" he said while pointing to a slumped over Turian sitting by himself

Shepard led them over to the table and tried to get the turians attention, only to fail miserably as he was seemingly passed out.

"This is just too much" mumbled Shepard

"Wha… who's there?" mumbled Lorik in response as he seemed to come out of his self-imposed black out

"I'm Commander Shepard, I heard you might be able to help me" replied Shepard

"Shepard? You're that Spectre that arrived earlier, what could an old turian like me possibly help you with?" slurred Lorik

"I've been told you are the turian to see about a garage pass" replied Shepard in a stern tone

"How fortuitous!" exclaimed Lorik "It just so happens that I am the local manager of Synthetic Insights office, at least until Anoleis gets his ass in gear and gets me fired"

"How would he get you fired?" inquired Shepard

"His goons are ransacking my office for the dirt I have on him, he is claiming to "investigate" me for corruption while it is him that is corrupt! HAH!" finished Lorik

"I suspect we just found the price for your pass?" asked Garrus

"Smart boy you have there… indeed that is my price. You get back the evidence before Anoleis goons get it and hand it over to me and I will give you my pass" replied Lorik

"We have a deal it seems" said Shepard

"Ah… one more detail Commander. Violence against Mr. Anoleis thugs might be needed, said thugs just so happens to be members of the Hanshan security team. Thought as it happens, Ms. Matsuo is not aware of their outside contract… she _disapproves_ of outside contracting…" Lorik said in an apologetic tone

"I don't think that will be a problem" replied Shepard as she turned to leave

The entire team except Echo began heading out, Shepard did throw a glance towards him but he just waved her off. Once they were finally alone Echo disabled his helmet and sat down.

"Mr. Qui'in… I do believe you have some information I want…" began Echo

* * *

Getting to the offices was no difficult task; in fact Shepard thought that the security was perhaps just a bit too loose around here.

"On your guard people, something feels off" ordered Shepard

Everyone pulled out their weapons and advanced slowly through the halls. The silence was almost deafening, after all wasn't there supposed to be guards up here ransacking this place?

The team turned a corner only for Shepard to almost fall flat on her ass when she ended up kicking something on the ground. That something turned out to be a certain blonde haired security officer.

"What happened to her?" asked Shepard while looking her over

Liara knelt down and pulled out at the neck of the blonde's armor to see below it, what she saw made a chill run up her spine, long blue marks ran all across the woman's chest and seemingly continued down towards her lower body… only one thing looked like this.

"Biotic burns…" Liara said in a low breath "the amount of power needed to leave a wound this drastic is incredibly high Commander; I have only seen Asari Commando's create burns this strong"

The sound of gentle clapping could be heard and the entire team swiveled to face down three Asari Commando's whom were standing with a smirk on their faces, the middle one was the one clapping and Liara recognized her quickly…

"Lienth…" Liara breathed

"Hallo my dear, been a while" replied the Asari apparently named Lienth

"33 years, 65 days and 4 hours but who's counting?" replied Liara in an uncharacteristic cocky fashion

"You're still not mad about that are you?" asked Lienth in a case of genuine surprise

"Of course not, you only ripped out my heart and danced on it for a while before leaving…" growled Liara

'_Did Liara just… growl?'_ thought everyone there who knew Liara

"Come on Star, you can't keep that against me forever!" yelled Lienth in anger

"I sure as hell can!" yelled Liara using a sentence she learned from Ashley

Following her angry declaration Liara threw a warp towards her former friend.

Lienth barely managed to get a barrier up to absorb that warp and only had a few moments to throw her own before gunfire began running down the hall accompanied by Biotics from both Wrex and Liara.

Of course Lienth two fellow Commandos were firing both bullets and Biotics in a hope to match their opposition but it quickly became apparent that in this case numbers really weren't in their favor.

"Orders?!" Yelled one of the Commando's to Lienth while dodging another biotic ability

"Damnit… retreat! We can't afford to be caught here!" yelled Lienth

The three Commandos just barely managed to depart their current position before a Singularity roared to life right behind them threatening to pull them in. In a desperate last hope Lienth threw a warp into the Singularity causing it to explode in a biotic fury sending herself and her two companions flying out of a nearby window and into the cold harsh mountains of Noveria.

The three quickly hid deep in the snow and called a shuttle to get them out of there. Thankfully Liara and her team didn't follow them through the window so they were left in peace until they finally saw the shuttle come for them.

Once aboard they set off towards Peak 15 once again to rejoin their Matriarch and give their report.

"Benezia is going to flay you alive, Lienth" said one of the Commandos

"Flay? Lienth is lucky if there is even a trace of her left once Benezia finds out" said the other Commando

"Very funny you two. It's not like we actually tried to kill her" said Lienth

"That's true but that is not how Benezia is going to see it and you know it" replied the first one

"Fuck you Pelida" Lienth growled in return

"Can't you at least wait until we are back at base?" replied Pelida with a wink and smirk

"Good grief Pelida, don't you ever get enough?" asked the second Commando

"Jeiss, Jeiss, Jeiss… one can never get enough of a good thing, especially not a luxuary product like myself" boasted Pelida

"You know what I am starting to believe the rumor that you only became a Commando by screwing every one of the judges!" the now named Jeiss retorted angrily

"Now listen here you little…" began Pelida

"ENOUGH!" Roared Lienth "You two will keep your traps shut for the rest of the flight or I shall personally show you how you can get biotic burns _on the_ _inside!_" finished Lienth in a snarl

The two Commandos shut up and thankfully remained that way for the rest of the flight back to peak 15.

Lienth had spent the entire time looking out the window and thinking about her past with Liara, to this day it still haunted her how good a thing she had let go back then… just because of something so incredibly stupid…

* * *

"That stupid daughter of a…"

Liara continued her rant from when she had seen the shuttle fly off in the distance. Most of the team had given her the space she wanted as they had searched the rest of the offices only to find more corpses and a few computers.

With a little luck it seemed that none of the computers had been touched though some of the earlier ones showed signs of being broken in to. Lorik Qui'in's computer was thankfully in a secluded office at the very back of the building so the Commando's had apparently now made it all the way there yet.

The team had grabbed the evidence and was now on their way back towards the bar to hand it to Qui'in and hopefully get their pass so they could get on their way towards Peak 15.

The team however never got much further than out of the elevator before they were one more face to face with Ms. Parasini.

"Commander, reports have come in about a lot of noise from Synthetic Insights offices… you wouldn't happen to know anything about that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow

"Must be the three Asari Commando's that just tried to kill us" replied Shepard in mock seriousness

Had they been listening they would have heard Liara muttering "No… not kill… she doesn't have the courage to kill me" though as it were it was left unheard and Liara kept up her very angry mood.

"Smartass, huh? That's fine I can work with that. Meet me at the bar _before_ you talk to Qui'in"

And with that Parasini turned and left. The team followed shortly after and quickly found themselves back in the elevator leading up to the bar. As they stepped off and entered the bar three things caught Shepard's eye.

One was Qui'in sitting with a very thoughtful expression on his face

Another was Parasini standing by a table while tapping her foot impatiently

The last thing was Echo sitting at one of the first tables with his helmet disabled and what she suspected was a beer in his hand.

"Having fun there, Echo?" she asked

"Immensely. What kept you?" he countered

"A few Asari Commandos were at the offices before us" she replied

Shepard of course didn't miss the way Echo's eyes shot open and stared at her in bewildered confusion, she had to file that under question she would ask once they were back on the ship.

"I… see… that was unexpected. I trust you dealt with it?" he asked in a careful tone

Shepard shook her head "They escaped by blasting one of the windows and jumping out"

"I guess that means Benezia will have even more warning now…" he growled to himself

"Did you learn anything from Qui'in?" she inquired

"We can talk it over during the Mako ride to peak 15. That is if you have what we need for the pass?" he asked in return

"Parasini seems to have something else in mind, and I am interested in hearing what it is" she replied

Echo stood up and gestured towards Parasini which started Shepard on walking alongside him

"She most likely wants him to testify against Anoleis before the board" he informed Shepard

"Why would she want that?" Shepard inquired

"Because she is in fact an internal affairs agent… One of the things Lorik informed me off" Echo half lied, Lorik had indeed told him despite him already knowing.

Shepard nodded but didn't respond since they were within hearing distance of Parasini now.

"Commander. Let me reintroduce myself, Parasini, Internal Affairs agent" Parasini said

"What does an internal affairs agent want with me?" Shepard asked though she now knew the answer

"The board has known about Anoleis corruption for quite some time and they would like him taken down. That can be done easily if you could convince Qui'in to testify against Anoleis in front of the board" replied Parasini

"You do know I need his garage pass for my mission, right? Something tells me that he won't give it if I try and convince him to testify" accused Shepard

A slight nudge from Echo let her know that she was wrong on that account.

"If you convince Qui'in to testify then I will give you a pass, a favor for a favor" replied Parasini

"I'll give it a shot then" said Shepard before turning around and heading straight for Lorik Qui'in

Echo was right at her heels as they approached and sat down at the table alongside Qui'in

"So I assume by now Ms. Parasini has proposed her deal?" Lorik asked

"That she has. I take it our earlier conversation leaves no room for us to discuss it?" Echo countered

"Quite. I will testify against Anoleis in return for the information you have given me Mr. Echo and of course the data I asked you to receive, Commander" replied Lorik

Shepard handed over the data and Lorik gave a nod and a smile

"Much appreciated Commander. Here is my garage pass and I wish you a safe journey" Lorik stood up and made to leave but stopped and turned to look at Echo "If you ever find yourself on Noveria again Mr. Echo come find me and we might share more stories"

"We will see" was Echo's reply.

The two then returned to Parasini and informed her of Lorik's willingness to testify. Parasini thanked them and made an off-hand remark the she owed them a beer in the future before leaving to arrest Anoleis.

"Guess we are done with Port Hanshan for now" said Garrus once Shepard and Echo approached the team

"Yes finally!" said Shepard

"So we are headed down to the garage?" asked Wrex

"Yep. Let's get going and get out of this port as quickly as possible" replied Shepard

No one had any complaints to that so they dutifully fell into line and followed Shepard as she led them down to the garage.

When they approached the last door before they would enter the garage a small ping sounded through Echo's helmet, alerting him to malicious data trying to infiltrate his system.

"Shepard, something is attempting to hack into my suit. The signature belongs to Geth which means there are probably a few on the other side of the door" he said

"Noted. Weapons at the ready everyone" ordered Shepard

Echo fell down into the back alongside Garrus since they were now both carrying snipers for this mission. Though Echo still had his Vasto at his side for emergencies.

The doors opened and gunfire rang out not a second later. Inside at least two destroyers and four Stalkers were present a few regular Geth were there as well.

Liara started everything off by throwing a singularity that nailed both destroyers together which allowed Echo and Garrus to each to one shot at them. Garrus nailed his destroyer right in the flashlight sending it crumbling to the floor while Echo was a little more practical and shot it through its core processor equally so destroying it.

Shepard was having her own fun by shooting down the Stalkers as they were mid-jump, a little something that she found extremely funny to do.

Wrex was making full use of his new and improved shields and were actually fighting the Geth up close and personal and he seemed to be having equally great fun throwing them around and into each other.

All in all Garrus and Echo didn't do anything else after they had taken the two destroyers other than simply watch as the other three completely destroyed the remaining Geth.

"Never get tired of looking at that" commented Garrus

"There is a subtle beauty to watching them destroy things huh?" offered Echo

"Indeed my friend, indeed" replied Garrus

The two bumped fists without looking and then let a few chuckles escape them as they noticed Shepard beginning to argue with Wrex over him "stealing" her kills when he destroyed to Stalkers by throwing a geth at them.

"Enough, enough" chided Echo "We have a mission to get to"

Shepard gave a grunt but none the less climbed into the Mako that was already in the garage and planted herself in the driver's seat, Echo of course took the navigator's seat and Garrus took the gun as per usual.

They had barely made it out of the garage before Shepard gave a hand sign to the three in the back and the sealed off the driver's compartment from the rest of the Mako.

"So what did you get out of Qui'in?" Shepard asked

Echo disabled his mask before speaking "A few things. One is that Peak 15 is on official lock down meaning that no one should have arrived or left since the lockdown took effect which it did some weeks ago meaning that Benezia most likely is still there"

"And she is without a doubt waiting for us"

"Of that I have no doubt. All there is left is to guess just how big a welcoming committee we are going to be getting"

"We could always hope that they are busy elsewhere and won't have time for us"

"One can always hope. Though I must admit to being curious about what Saren has been using Peak 15 for"

'_I just hope it's only Rachni and not some other surprise…'_ Echo added as an afterthought to himself

"I've got a feeling that I won't like it whatever it is"

"Who knows, maybe he is breeding Rachni"

Of course Echo was joking when he said it but he figured that by saying it he might just keep Sarah on her toes enough so that when the Rachni did come bursting forward they wouldn't have so much trouble.

"*Snort* Yeah that would be the day, Wrex would probably blow a quad"

Echo flinched at the image, no matter what race and what age getting the image of one of your private parts getting destroyed is never pleasant.

"Serious talk for a moment Sarah"

Every bit of humor vanished from Sarah's features when he used her first name and she gave a nod in understanding.

"For now I just want you to trust me and listen closely okay?"

Another nod

"Intelligence I have gathered shows that a lot of special equipment and scientist were shipped and brought to Noveria and subsequently brought to Peak 15. All of these things together show signs of cloning or breeding experiments…"

"Marc… you better not be telling me that Benezia is breeding Rachni up there…"

"Could be anything but for such a facility like Peak 15 to suddenly be put on complete lockdown something major must have happened, the outbreak of their test subjects might just be what happened"

It was a stretch and a bad one at that but Marc needed some way to inform Shepard about what they would be facing so she could prepare.

"Fuck… any plan on how to deal with this should it prove true?"

"First off I must warn you that if Wrex cannot keep himself under control… I will kill him"

Sarah raised an eyebrow in confusion "Would you really go that far?"

"If we are really dealing with Rachni " _'which we are'_ "then we have no room for Wrex to run off on some blood rage to "Battle my kinds ancient enemy" or some such bullshit"

"I guess I see your point. Any idea how to stop him?"

"I do. Beat it into his thick skull if it happens"

"Think he'll get it?"

"He bloody well better or I will have Krogan blood on my hands before the day is done"

The ride continued in silence and Marc began growing frustrated about not seeing any geth at all. Usually you would encounter quite a few of them once you were here but yet nothing had happened so far and it was beginning to make him quite paranoid.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Marc turned and stared with a confused expression before nodding

"What was life like back on earth in 2013?"

Marc stared for a few moments before shaking his head and staring straight forward for a while to collect his thoughts.

"I'm not sure really… I lived a slow life back then. Woke up, went to school, went home, went out with friends, got home again, went to sleep, rinse repeat"

"Really? Nothing exiting happen back then?"

"I was a gamer most of my life back then. Spent most of my time in front of a computer exploring worlds not my own"

"You? A gamer?"

"You seem surprised"

"I have a hard time seeing you playing any game"

"Stuck to RPG games mostly in my youth, never felt a taste for modern things like shooters or the like"

A dry chuckle escaped Marc as memories of all those old games flowed back into his mind and a few bright moments kept a smile on his face.

"You must have been a heavy World of Warcraft player"

Marc almost broke his neck from turning his head towards Sarah so fast.

"What did you say?"

"World of Warcraft, you know super popular MMO back from the 21st century"

"I know what it is. Just surprised you know about it, it is from the 21st century as you just pointed out"

"What would you do if I told you that it was still around until 2122"

"I would say you are full of shit"

With a grin Sarah raised her omni tool and sent a link to Marc which he opened only to suddenly have a violent coughing fit from the silent scream/laugh that tried to come out at the same time. The title of the article he had been sent read

"**World of Warcraft reaches 112****th**** expansion before closure"**

The article went on to describe the unheard of longevity of the virtual MMO and its various states and owners that it had gone through. Blizzard had apparently sold the IP somewhere around 2056 and then reclaimed it somewhere in 2099 and followed through with it until 2122 when they announced the final patch and closure of the game.

"This must be the stupidest thing I have _ever_ seen"

"Didn't think it would last that long back then?"

"Back then I thought it was on its way to die"

"Clearly not"

"Since when did you become such a video game fanatic anyway?"

"Well… dad taught me to shoot and military tactics… he also had a bad habit of spending his days off sitting in the living room playing video games, you guess what happened"

"Anything dad does seem interesting when you are a kid"

"Yep"

Any other conversation was interrupted when Peak 15 came into view. Marc put his helmet back on to hide his now rather annoyed scowl.

'_This is going way to easy… something is way fucking off…'_

He summarized to himself as they departed the Mako and took a few careful steps towards Peak 15. A raised sign from Shepard made everyone ready their weapons, they weren't going to be caught in a situation like with the Commandos earlier.

"Communication restricted to internal channels, no one removes their helmets" ordered Shepard through their shared helmet links

"Roger" was the collective reply

The garage door was frozen shut so the team had to use the side door to enter, didn't do them any good as they were just led to the second garage door which thankfully wasn't locked. Everyone expected to have gunfire raining over them once the large door opened up but there was a deathly silence hanging inside the deserted garage.

"I don't like this" grumbled Wrex

"Something is definently wrong, no way there wouldn't be Geth here to guard the entrance" agreed Garrus

"Perhaps my mother withdrew them to protect another area?" suggested Liara

"Possible but not likely, no something went horribly wrong here and I am starting to think I know what" replied Shepard

"Care to enlighten the rest of us?" inquired Garrus

"Not until I am hundred percent sure Garrus" was the reply

The team kept advancing until they came to a small corridor with turrets pointing _towards_ the exit of the facility.

"Why are these turrets facing the wrong way?" asked Liara

"They aren't" replied Echo

"Oh…" muttered Liara

The further into the facility they went the more disturbing it became to not find anything. Most of the rooms they came through had the windows blown out and the entire floor was covered in a thick layer of snow.

"_Echo I detect metal below the snow, the material is of Geth make_" came Eva's voice

Echo nodded before replying to his entire team "Eva just informed me that there are dead Geth below the snow, so it's not that we didn't face the opposition we simply weren't the first to find them"

"Then who did?" grumbled Wrex

A piercing screech rang out across the hallways of the complex. Moments later the team was back to back to cover every direction.

"The hell was that?" asked Garrus

"Rachni" growled Echo

"Rachni?! Impossible" roared Wrex

As if the universe simply wanted to prove Wrex wrong about half a dozen Rachni workers burst from the snow and slowly approached their newly discovered enemies. Echo however noticed something off about these Rachni; they weren't fighting like mindless beasts, rather they fought like a coordinated unit which suggested the presence of a Queen's voice in their minds.

"Time to shed the blood of the ancient enemy!" roared Wrex before charging mindlessly towards the closest Rachni

"Wrex wait!" roared Echo too late

The team watched as Wrex collided with the big beast and unleashed two shotgun shells into its brain sending the poor creature to the ground. The remaining workers began circling the group in an attempt to flank them or perhaps separate the group even further.

"Damnit!" _'Ice wave: Activate!'_ roared Echo in his mind as he slammed his fist into the ground.

Using the snow covered ground to his advantage Echo pumped a great deal of energy into the ability and applied a targeting formula which allowed him to release multiple waves of ice towards the remaining Rachni. Four of the Rachni were caught and impaled by the energy while the last one managed to dodge out of the way.

Seeing that it was heavily outnumbered the last remaining worker bolted for the nearest vent and disappeared from the fight.

"Hahaha!" laughed Wrex

Though his laugh didn't last long as Echo was on him and in another display of his Warframe enhanced strength lifted Wrex of the floor by the throat, his helmet disabled to reveal his furious face.

"**If you **_**ever**_** endanger everyone like that again Wrex, I will kill you!**" roared Echo

Wrex wanted to answer but Echo's hands were firmly closing his windpipe and ensuring that no rebuttal was forthcoming.

"Furthermore I do not give a shit how much you wish to fight your race's ancient enemy, you will stow your bloodlust and ensure that we all get through this mission alive" finished Echo

Wrex was dropped to the ground and Echo went off to cool his head for the second time that day. It had been a good few hundred years since Wrex had been truly scared, but something about that strange being had him shaking in every part of his body.

"You really are stupid sometimes Wrex" commented Shepard

"I… will not refute that. But a chance to battle my kind's ancient enemy which I only heard of growing up, it was too glorious a chance" replied Wrex

"That's all well and good Wrex but you are part of a team now and teams stick together and have each other's back" Garrus put in

"He's right. Can I trust that you will keep yourself in check for the rest of the mission?" asked Shepard

"By my honor as a battlemaster" replied Wrex in a stern tone

"Good" said Shepard with a smile

A few minutes later Echo returned though he didn't speak or show any sign of being angry or passive or anything else for that matter.

The team continued their trip through the facility and on the way it became quite clear that the Rachni and Geth were using this facility as a war zone. The halls were littering with corpses on both sides and every so often an Asari or human would prop up among the corpses, either an unlucky scientist or Commando that got caught between the two or on one of the sides.

"Just what in the hell did they try up here?" grumbled Garrus

"They tried to bring the Rachni back and I will say they succeeded but something must have gone wrong somewhere in the process and the Rachni broke out" replied Echo

They crossed around another corner and opened yet another door only to freeze inside the new corridor when the sound of more skittering feet could be heard

"At the ready people" ordered Shepard

'_If they still are under the effects of a queen that means that they are semi-sentient…'_

Echo's train of thought was leading him towards a conclusion that he wasn't sure he liked, mostly because it could potentially mean that there were two queens at large in this facility.

One of the vents blew open and a Rachni stuck its head out and looked at the team before going back inside and more skittering could be heard circulating them, they were trapped.

"I'm going to try something" mumbled Echo

"Am I going to like it?" asked Shepard in a worried tone

"Nope, and Wrex you just keep your finger off the trigger" ordered Echo

Wrex gave a grunt in acceptance but adapted quite the sour look.

Echo took a few careful steps forward before placing the Vectis on his back and disabling his helmet.

"I know you can understand me! I wish an audience with the Queen from whom you take your commands, we have a way to help you recover the one still captive!" yelled Echo to seemingly no one

The entire team was looking at him like he was out of his mind (which he most certainly was) but none the less waited for any form of response.

One lone drone crawled out of the vent and approached Echo in a careful manner as seemingly sniffed him before making some screeching noises and pointing one of its tentacles at the ground in a "stay here" manner and then crawled back into the vent.

"I hope you know what you're doing Echo" commented Shepard

"So do I" he responded

A minute later the drone returned with roughly a dozen more Rachni that encircled the group and began leading them forward. They were led through various doors and passed through several broken walls and windows before they came to an area that felt oddly warm despite their currently location.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" mumbled Wrex

"You keep your mouth closed the entire time Wrex, we don't need to give them any further reason to kill us" growled Echo

"May I remind you that _you_ put us in this rather compromising situation?" quipped Shepard

"Yeah, yeah" drawled Echo

The doors opened to reveal quite the strange sight. In the center of the room stood what resembled a smaller version of the Rachni Queen that they would meet later on in the mission though this little one didn't seem to command any less respect.

Everyone on the team suddenly felt a small touch at the back of their minds, it was not an unpleasant feeling and had they not been so on guard they might have missed it entirely.

"_You claim to wish to help us yet you kill us?"_ spoke a small almost scared sound female voice

"I know that Saren and Benezia is keeping your Queen somewhere and that she will soon die if not rescued" replied Echo

"_Yet you do not answer our question, why do you wish to help us"_ questioned the Rachni leader

"I have seen what condemning an entire race based on their past can cause" replied Echo in a dark voice "I will never have that happen in front of me again. The Rachni from the past were violent but you are different, you will at least have the choice to live peaceful lives" finished Echo

"_Your song carries the truth in its tones…"_ the Rachni Princess turned its head towards Shepard _"Your song is… unusual… it sings with colors that we have never seen before"_

Echo turned a questioning look towards Shepard and figured that it might have something to do why she also carries such a strong presence when he tries to use his ability near her.

"I don't know what to tell you" replied Shepard calmly

"_Does the songless one speak for you all? Will you help us reclaim our mother?"_ asked the Princess

"He does and we will" replied Shepard

"What?!" Roared Wrex

Before the Rachni was allowed to act Echo swirled and pushed Wrex against a wall

"Wrex think this through! Your entire race was condemned after your usefulness was used up. Now you are on the brink of extinction and you will seriously tell me that you are ready to inflict that fate on another race?" asked Echo in a calm voice

Wrex got a thoughtful look on his face as he pondered his friends words. They were true and he hated it, his kind had been doomed to extinction because of someone else's choices…

"No… you are right my friend, that is not my decision to make" replied Wrex in an equally calm tone

"Glad that you see reason… I am not asking you to like it Wrex but I still hope that you can accept that this is the right thing to do…" commented Echo

"Shut up and let's get on with this before I change my mind" he grunted in reply

With a nod Echo turned back towards the Rachni Princess and gave a court nod in apology.

"Now that we have that out of the way. Can you tell us where your Queen is imprisoned so we can get a plan together?" asked Shepard

"_Our mother is held captive somewhere in this facility, we cannot tell you where precisely but one of our drones can lead you as close as those machine abominations that have slaughtered countless of us" _replied the Princess

"Understood, if at all possible stay out of the fight as long as possible so you can avoid losing any more" said Shepard

"_Your consideration for us is remarkable and we thank you, may mother guide you safely on your way"_ said the Princess in parting

A drone stepped forward and began leading the team back through the facility, soon they were back where they first departed from and the drone began leading them through a few small passages that left them standing in front of a large set of double doors. The drone made a few noises before turning and heading back towards its princess.

"I guess we are at the edge of Geth territory then" said Garrus

"Guns at the ready, there is no telling what numbers we will be facing" ordered Shepard

The doors opened to a hail of gunfire than blasted the entire team's shields apart in seconds forcing everyone into cover. Liara's barriers came up the fastest and she quickly gave them some breathing room by planting a singularity in the center of the room which disturbed the footing of quite a few geth which allowed Shepard and Wrex to drop a few while advancing to a more favorable cover location.

Garrus was popping out and taking shots where he could while Echo was busy nursing a bullet wound in his shoulder. A geth sniper had gotten a shot in when his shields dropped and it was quite easy to feel that the shot had broken a few bones on its way through.

"You alight?!" yelled Garrus

"Give me a minute and I should be stable!" yelled Echo back

Garrus nodded and continued his assault.

Liara managed to drop two more geth when she got a lucky biotic push in that sent both of the geth flying into the wall and then through said wall. Wrex and Shepard were dancing around each other with psychotic grins on their faces as they moved down anything that came to close to them with their shotguns.

It cost a bit of time and some fresh wounds for everyone but eventually the geth were taken care of.

"Damage report!" yelled Shepard

"Bullet wound in the shoulder, a few broken bones but nothing major that won't have fixed itself in a few hours" said Echo

"A few dents on my armor, nothing else" said Wrex

"A bullet grazed my cheek aside from that only a few bruises from a geth getting too close" said Liara

"Just a few bumps Shepard, nothing inhibiting" Garrus finished the report

"Good. I would suspect we are close to Benezia by now so we need to be ready. Any last moment things to say before we head out?" asked Shepard

"When we face down my mother I must caution against trying to take down one of the Commando's in close quarters combat. Most of them are trained in Biotic Melee combat which utilizes strikes infused with biotic power which can cause more than a little bit of damage if you get hit" replied Liara

"If at all possible I suggest taking Benezia alive" added Echo

"I assume you have a reason to capture, arguably, one of the most dangerous Asari currently in our universe?" asked Shepard

"Don't I always?" asked Echo with a smile

"Usually you don't share said reason before it is too late" countered Shepard

"True enough but for now let my reasons remain my own and simply attempt to capture her alive" replied Echo

"If it's possible" acknowledged Shepard

They fought through a few more rooms and encountered diminishing numbers of geth with each room, it would seem they were retreating backwards to reinforce their position. As they approached another door Echo used his ability to see how many organics were past the next door. the feedback he received suggested somewhere around 20 organics and who knows how many geth.

"20 organics in the next room Shepard, can't tell exactly since most of them are standing in clusters" said Echo

"I would only assume around 10 of those are commandos, my mother always kept a relatively low number of elites with her as her bodyguards" commented Liara

"Everyone ready?" asked Shepard

Four nods were all the confirmation that she needed to open the door and move in gun first.

Though they were ready to face down a horde of opponents they were faced with a calm Benezia standing and staring at the Rachni Queen.

"You underestimate my resolve if you think I would be moved by sympathy because of who you chose to bring with you Commander" said Benezia calmly

"You think I asked Liara to be here?" replied Shepard with a questioning look

"I suspect not" Benezia turned her head towards her daughter and a small flash of emotion passed her eyes "what have you told them about me Liara?"

"What could I say? There was nothing I could say to them that I didn't wish myself not to believe" replied Liara sadly

"Then perhaps child, I should have been stricter with you"

Along with her statement a stasis field erupted around the entire squad locking them in place.

"Have you ever faced down an Asari Commando unit before? Few humans have" said Benezia with a bit of pride as two Commandos appeared at her side

One of the Commandos looked at Liara with an apologetic look before aiming her gun at her. Of course trying to look sorry when about to kill someone does tend to have a very angering effect on the target and in the case of our dear Liara it just resulted in a pained scream that broke her mother's stasis field which she quickly followed up by attempting to catch her Asari sisters in a Singularity

Benezia and her Commandos of course avoided it easily enough and as if that had acted as a signal more Commandos began pouring out of the doors and began raining fire down on the small team.

"Everyone stay close!" roared Echo

'_Snow Globe; Activate'_ Echo ordered in his mind and a chill passed through the area as snow began swirling around the team and hardened on the outside while the inside was covered in a thin layer of energy that would allow bullets to break the ice from the inside and then close the hole again in an instant.

"Fire at will!" Shepard ordered and then all hell broke loose

Not one weapon was spared in use as it simply came down to tearing apart as many Commandos as they possibly could before Echo's inevitable loss of control over his snow globe.

One down, two down, three down… the number kept climbing until ten Asari were dead. As Liara had predicted only three of those had been Commandos while the remaining seven seemed nothing more than regular military.

The snow globe gave in as Echo's energy reserves dropped too low for him to maintain it at a useful strength.

Everyone dived to cover and began taking shots at whatever moved in the hope of stopping the barrage of Biotic attacks constantly flying over their heads.

"What the hell are we going to do?!" yelled Garrus over the noise

"Liara try and plant a singularity somewhere it can cover us while we advance!" yelled Shepard

Liara nodded and planted a Singularity in front of as many of their enemies as possible which thankfully was enough for Shepard and Wrex to advance to a more favorable firing position.

The fight began turning into more of an endurance test as neither side could get the advantage. On occasion the team would manage to drop another Asari but it usually came at the cost of a new wound somewhere. As it stood Echo had four new holes in his armor that would need fixing, Wrex had whipped himself into a blood craze after getting shot in the stomach, Garrus had remained lucky and had gotten off with a few armor scratches, Liara had suffered some Biotics burns but no bullet wounds thankfully and Shepard was nursing a few wounds in her shoulder.

"This has to end soon Shepard. I'm almost out of ammo and I am not keen on getting close to a Commando with my Nikana" said Echo in a tired voice

"We need a distraction so we can take down the last few Commandos" offered Garrus

"*Groan* promise to keep me away from Chakwas long enough for me to heal before she kills me" said Echo as he stood up and rushed out of cover while firing his Vasto at any target he could see

"Dumbass!" roared Shepard as she popped up and began laying down covering fire.

Echo managed an impressive fifteen steps before he hit something that felt like a brick wall. Then it felt like another slammed into his back leaving him with new knowledge of how a sandwich felt right before a third and final wall slammed into his side cracking seven of his ribs and breaking his right arm and leg causing him to black out from shock.

"He must be tired of living" commented Wrex dryly

"No… no not tired just very, very stupid" replied Shepard in an equally dry voice as she broke the barrier of another Commando allowing Garrus to put a hole in her skull.

"How did he live to be 350 again?" joked Garrus

"Sheer dumb fucking luck" replied Wrex

The fighting died down when Benezia was finally the only one standing, though that didn't exactly make anyone feel any better simply because she hadn't participated in the fighting at all.

"I suppose if you want something done it is better to do it yourself" scoffed Benezia before firing a Warp towards the Commander that was intercepted by Liara with a strong barrier

"Your opponent will be me, mother" growled Liara

"So be it" replied Benezia

Shepard wanted to help but she was stopped by Wrex who shook his head "This is her fight, she needs it. If she seems to be losing we will back her up" it was with an angry nod that Shepard lowered her weapon again and watched.

The two biotic powerhouses was going at it harder and faster than either had fought in a long time. Whenever Liara dodged one biotic attack she would fire one back only to have to block yet another one.

This dance continued backwards and forwards until the younger of the two women began tiring, she didn't have the training of stamina of her seasoned mother.

"It would seem this is the end, I had hoped you would prove a bigger challenge but I digress" taunted Benezia

Liara wanted to respond but the strain on her body forced every inch of her mind towards ensuring she survived and responded to her mother's attacks.

Benezia on the other hand was deliberately drawing out the fight, the small part of her mind that had survived the indoctrination had planted the idea that if perhaps Liara proved a big enough challenge she could convince Saren to let her live and then bring her along.

That was at least what the indoctrinated part of her mind was hoping for now; the real Benezia had quite another hope in mind. After all there was something quite unique about her little wing that she hoped she had inherited from her father.

Her hopes were rewarded as she slowly saw her daughters bright blue eyes begin emitting a soft golden glow that pulsed ever so slightly, all that was needed now was the final push.

"In the end I suppose Lienth was right in leaving you all those years ago… you are simply too weak" gloated Benezia

That did the trick.

In a roar of fury Liara's eyes flared golden and her biotics soon followed suit. These new golden biotics easily overpowered Benezia's own powers and she smiled warmly at her daughter as she truly had inherited her father's unique biotics… now if only she could have lived to see her develop these new powers.

Down from his position on the floor Echo had observed the end of the fighting and was getting reacquainted with an old feeling once more. "Fear" was an emotion that he usually only felt when Karick was around but somehow staring at those golden biotics made him quiver in fear and anticipation… he wanted to fight against it and see just how powerful they truly were…

In a final push Liara managed to overwhelm her mother completely and struck her with a biotic throw that sent Benezia flying into the railing with her head hitting first. The result was perhaps the best the team could have hoped for, Benezia was out cold but still alive.

"Well… that went better than I expected" commented Garrus

"Depends on how you look at it. Liara are you okay?" asked Shepard

After a few steady breaths Liara turned towards the team revealing her once more blue eyes "I am fine Shepard… a little shaken but aside from that I feel better than I have in many years"

"That's great and all but could someone help me up?" came Echo's voice

With a chuckle Wrex walked over and pulled their armored friend up to a standing position but it was quite evident that he was in great pain.

"How bad is it?" asked Shepard

"Seven broken ribs and my right arm and leg equally so" he replied casually

"How are you still standing?" asked Garrus

"My armor works great as a support crutch but I am definently not feeling okay" replied Echo with a pained shrug

"Think you can handle it until we are back at the ship?" inquired Shepard

"That much I can do" he replied

"Good. Let's secure Benezia and check on the other bodies, some of them might still be alive and the more of Saren's supporters we can contain the better" ordered Shepard

After a quick sweep three more bodies were placed next to Benezia's still form. Lienth and two other Commandos were still breathing but they would certainly need medical care when they returned to the ship.

Biotic suppressing cuffs were placed on all four as insurance though Liara commented that they wouldn't do much if any of them really got to cut loose.

The focus finally fell on the Rachni Queen who was peering at the group, though her attention was diverted when the sound of hundreds of legs sounded through the complex and one of the doors opened to allow the flood of Rachni drones to pour through alongside the Rachni Princess.

"It would seem they are here for their Queen" commented Liara

"Are you really sure about this Echo?" grunted Wrex

"I am. Thank you for understanding" replied Echo

"Doesn't mean I like it" growled Wrex in response

"_We are eternally grateful for you saving, mother" _the voice of Princess rang in their minds

"Anything to help" replied Shepard with a grin as she looked over the controls to find the release procedure

"_Will you truly free us?"_ came another more regal sounding voice in everyone's minds

"The Rachni Queen I presume?" inquired Shepard

"_I am the mother to those you spared… thank you… are we free to compose again?"_ asked the Queen

"Find a world… a solitary world somewhere far away where you can hide from everyone" came Echo's raspy voice

"_We shall remain hidden from view once more… should you ever pass us by then listen for our song, for we shall sing of you for many generations to come"_ replied the Queen

With a nod Shepard pressed the final controls and the pod the Queen was in rose up and freed her, the many Rachni in the room soon followed as they raced for the surface to escape this infernal planet as quickly as they possibly could.

"Joker come in" called Shepard

"_Joker responding, what's up Commander?"_ replied Joker

"Bring the Normandy around for pickup, I don't care what grief you get from the port I just want us gone" ordered Shepard

"_Roger that Shepard, eta 10 minutes"_ replied Joker as he shut off the com

Everyone breathed a breath of relief as they began their trip back through the facility, something that took a little longer than last time simply because they had to allow Echo to walk at a considerably slower pace due to his injuries.

The Normandy came flying almost as soon as they exited the complex and a shuttle quickly picked them up and flew them back into the safety of the Normandy hull.

"Joker get us out of here and back to the Citadel, I think we need some time to deal with a few things" ordered Shepard over the com

"_Roger that Commander"_ replied Joker

A few moments later everyone stepped off the shuttle and began unloading their equipment.

Out of the corner of her eye Shepard caught Echo gently sneaking off towards his ship.

"Ohh no you don't buddy" she ordered as she caught him and turned him towards the elevator "You are going straight to Chakwas to get checked up, nanites or not"

Echo grumbled a few weak excuses but allowed himself to be lead away and towards his doom. The elevator doors opened to reveal Ashley standing with an impatient look on her face, she gave a salute to Shepard and a wave to Echo as she passed them and headed straight towards Liara.

Garrus had heard Ashley approach and watched in amusement as she pulled Liara away and towards the elevator, presumably towards Liara's personal quarters behind the med-bay.

"Never a dull moment on this ship" he quipped loudly

"Would be boring otherwise" commented Wrex in return.

**In the Med-Bay**

"Good lord, Marc what the hell happened to you?" asked Chakwas

"Ohh you know me, got caught in a three way biotic blast" replied Marc

"*Sigh* damage?" she inquired

"Right leg and arm plus seven ribs are broken" he replied

"I assume you also know how long before your nanites have healed you?"

"Give it 24 hours and I should be right as rain, though anything against the pain would be highly appreciated"

"I'll give you an injection that should last the 24 hours" Chakwas then turned towards Shepard "What about you?"

"A few nicks here and there" responded Shepard evasively

"Sit down over there and remove your top" ordered Chakwas "And you may leave Marc"

"Thank you Karin" he turned his gaze on Shepard "I'll meet you down in the brig"

"What are you going to do?" she asked

"I'm going to cure Benezia"

* * *

**A/N: Well fuck me left, right and just about everywhere else. Finally I am fucking done with this chapter, you people have no idea how much shit I have had to work through over the last few weeks it is insane how little time I have had to sit down and write but thankfully this previous weekend I managed to churn out enough of this chapter so I could finish it today (Hurray!)**

**I have to make 2 quick shout outs. One is for the idea of Biotic Burns, I have stolen that idea from someone else and I cannot for the life of me remember the Fanfiction I got it from but it was a brilliant idea and all the credit goes to the original creator.**

**Secondly I also nicked the whole "Intelligent Rachni" thing from both the Dark Energy Series (Go read that shit people, its fucking amazing) and parts of it also came from another fanfic I can't remember the name of either (I'm not good with names) but the credit goes to those 2 stories for that little plot point as well.**

**I couldn't resist doing at least **_**one**_** WoW joke so it came in this chapter and then never again. I just figured since we were in the future I just kind of had to. **

**Otherwise I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and as it was blatantly obvious I changed around the Noveria mission **_**a lot**_** but I hope it turned out more interesting than simply another resume of the in game mission. **

**Next time we are dealing with a still living Benezia and the captured Commandos.**

**I'll catch you all later**

**-BundleJumper**

**PS: Golden Biotics… it will be explained I promise…**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Fair Warning people, this chapter should be considered M rated both for suggested content, language and (attempted) description of gore. I don't think anyone will feel uncomfortable with this chapter but i felt i needed to warn you and this one chapter i dont feel justify bumping the entire story up a rating.**

* * *

"It makes for quite the sight doesn't it?"

Echo's voice broke the silence that was plaguing the brig. Liara was standing by herself and staring at the three captured Commandos as their unconscious forms were sprawled out over the cell floor.

"I must admit to finding it disturbing that so many have fallen to Saren's words" mumbled Liara

"There are things involved in this that you are not aware of Liara, so do not be so quick as to judge others before getting all the facts" Echo replied

"Why did we capture my mother?" asked Liara like she hadn't heard him

Echo looked back towards the door and gave a passing thought to Ashley whom he had walked by on his way here; she had been wearing quite the sad expression on her face that was mixed with a bit of anger as well.

"Because I wished to speak with her" replied Echo

"About what?"

"Your golden biotics for one and information about Saren for another"

"What makes you think my mother would know anything about what happened?"

"Call it a hunch"

The doors behind them gave a swoosh as they opened to reveal a curious looking Shepard.

"Okay Echo what the hell did you mean when you said you were going to cure Benezia?" demanded Shepard

"Cure my mother?" asked Liara in a confused tone

Echo looked at both of them before he stepped close to the cell containing Benezia's still form and bending down to stare directly into her closed eyes.

"Your mother is not in control of her own mind…" began Echo

"What do you mean?" asked Liara

"She is under the influence of Saren; Indoctrination is the word for it" replied Echo

"You mean to tell me she was brainwashed?" interrupted Shepard

"I think I should explain just what I know about Indoctrination… specifically where it truly comes from" said Echo

"More secrets?" asked Shepard a little offended

"I keep my secrets because you are not ready to hear them" began Echo "Indoctrination… at least the one Benezia and her Commandos suffer from does not originate from Saren himself… it originates from his ship"

"What?" Shepard blurted out

"Though Saren is indeed a charismatic individual and is capable of swaying plenty of people with words he does not command a strong enough presence to brainwash those who follow him. I suppose it is time the truth came out about why I am hunting Saren's ship… its name is Sovereign and it's a living Reaper…" Echo said carefully

"What?! You mean to tell me that his flagship is an actual Reaper?!" yelled Shepard

"Yes… I cannot tell you how important it is for us to destroy that thing, in truth I have no immediate idea why it is here or how it got here in any capacity but the only thing I am concerned about is that this one Reaper doesn't bring about the return of the rest of them" replied Echo in a deadly calm voice

"But how? I mean how have no one noticed or done something how did it even get here?" rambled Shepard

"The Reapers haven't been seen for 50.000 years, Shepard. The belief that Sovereign is nothing more but a giant geth construct seems a lot more feasible. As for how it got here? I have no idea but I assume it either never left after the last time they were seen or perhaps it simply flew here over a longer amount of time" replied Echo

"And how long have you known this?" asked Shepard in a now slightly more angry tone

"Ever since I stepped aboard your ship. Before you go on another rant, I didn't tell you because it would have skewed your perception of events and I couldn't risk you losing your focus. But now we are closing in on Saren and soon enough we might have to come face to face with either him or Sovereign so you needed to know what we could be facing" replied Echo

"You and your secrets are going to get us killed, you know that right?" Shepard accused

"If my secrets are kept properly then I assume it is one of them that will save us as well" Echo defended

"As fascinating as it is to finally learn a bit more about the Reapers and even that one is here I would really like to know how you are intending to cure my mother of this indoctrination" interrupted Liara

The debate that was brewing died down as soon as Liara had spoken and the two parties turned and stared at Benezia for a short while until she began stirring and showing signs of waking up.

"Give me a moment to speak with her" asked Echo as he stepped up to the energy barrier separating them.

Benezia slowly returned to consciousness only for the first thing her gaze landed on to be one of the people she had been fighting or at least that is as far as she can remember.

"Where am I?" asked Benezia in a hazy tone

"Aboard the Normandy, in the brig to be specific" replied Echo

"You captured me alive?... fools" she muttered

"What is foolish is your devotion to Saren and his cause" countered Echo

"You know not of what you speak! Saren's light fills my mind and everything has become clear to me!" Benezia yelled through gritted teeth

Echo stood back up and regarded Benezia for a moment. She had been under the Indoctrination effect for a long time and he wasn't sure just how deeply rooted it was this time. In the game she had managed to break free but yet here he doubted that she could do it again…

"What is it Echo?" asked Shepard

"… Her mind is clouded and confused, more so than I previously thought. I hoped to somehow bring out the Benezia that had been suppressed by the indoctrination but it seems it is too late" replied Echo

"I-Is there no way to save her?" asked Liara as she felt tears sting at her eyes

Echo gave a nod "There is. Not a very pleasant one but there is. I will be back momentarily" he said as he turned and began walking towards the door.

"That what you went looking for a few days ago?" asked Shepard as he passed her

"That and something else" Echo responded as the door closed behind him.

The two women stood in silence for a few minutes as each contemplated the situation. Liara was desperately hoping that her mother would be cured and that she wouldn't have to kill her. Shepard was more focused on how they were going to handle the fallout that would follow the revelation that Benezia had been captured.

"What do you think he is going to do?" asked Liara

"I don't know… he doesn't really share his plans with anyone and most of the time I just try and ensure the fallout goes in our favor" replied Shepard with a grin

Liara nodded and the two returned to silence as they watched the group of knocked out Commandos lying in their cell.

"You knew her didn't you?" asked Shepard pointing to one particular Commando

Liara stiffened slightly as her face contorted and a blush presented itself at the same time

"Me and Lienth have a history together, yes" muttered Liara in reply

"From the way you are acting I take it you didn't exactly split on good terms?"

"*sigh* That is the understatement of the decade Shepard"

"Want to tell me what happened?"

"We wanted separate things in life and the ensuing debate went badly, nothing more to tell"

"Alright"

The doors opened once more to reveal Echo carrying a large object in his arms, a sphere of sort.

"This is what is supposed to cure my mother?" asked Liara

"*Nod* That it is, though I will have to ask you to leave me alone with her for now. In truth I don't have perfect control of what is going to happen and I don't want you two caught in it" said Echo

"Caught in it?" muttered Liara with a furrowed brow

"*sigh* Indoctrination works by enslaving the mind, this object does the same thing. The only difference is that I can actually release the indoctrination effect again and thus leaving the individual back in full control" Echo replied to the unasked question

"So what you are saying if this goes wrong Benezia will simply be under your control instead of Saren's?" asked Shepard with a dangerous look in her eyes

"I suppose that is true, but if it fails I suppose the only solution left is to kill Benezia. Living a life while watching your own body from the outside is a horrible existence to condemn someone too"

"So either this works or we have to kill my mother?!" yelled Liara with wide eyes

"Yes!" yelled Echo in a dangerous tone "Do not be mistaken that had I not requested her capture and thus survival we would have executed her back on Noveria so spare me the rant!"

Both women took a step back at the harsh tone Echo had taken, both had heard it before but this time it felt much more focused… like the alternative was to horrible for him to imagine…

"Fine…" mumbled Liara as she turned and left the brig

"This better work Marc" stated Shepard before she too turned and left the room

Echo watched the closed door for a few seconds before he turned towards Benezia and stared at her with a dead look.

"Just you and me now Benezia" he muttered darkly

"Do your worst" replied Benezia while standing straight

Echo put the orb down in front of the energy wall separating the two and placed his hand on it.

'_Lily, you there?'_ asked Echo in his mind

'_I am here Ascended, is it time?'_ replied Lily's soothing voice

'_Yes, you should be able to feel quite a few indoctrinated minds around me but only the one in front of me needs to be purged'_ thought Echo

'_Indeed there are plenty… though the one in front of you is the worst of them…'_ replied Lily

'_So can you do it?'_ asked Echo

'_It will be painful but I can'_

'_Then do it'_

Echo took a step backwards from the sphere and watched in wonder as it slowly began pulsing with energy…

…

…

…

…

"ARGH!"

Benezia fell to floor screaming while clutching her head. Her body was convulsing and thrashing around while her eyes were opened as far as they could go and almost seemed like they would pop, her teeth were gritted and the sound of bone grinding on bone could be heard…

Echo watched it all without blinking, he had seen far worse and suffered even more but he still felt uncomfortable with staring at it happen to someone else.

It took a while but eventually Benezia began calming down and her wild movements reduced to occasional flinches and the occasional spasm.

'_It is done, her mind is under my control'_ came Lily's voice in Echo's mind

'_Release her then and let it be done'_ replied Echo

'_Are you certain Ascended? She could be a powerful tool…'_

'_You will release this instant or I will have no problem seeing your race extinct!'_ roared Echo in his mind in retort

He felt Lily recoil from his mind and allowed himself to calm down a little.

'_My apologies Lily, but I detest using mind control on those I know tried to do the right thing…'_

'_Do not worry Ascended. I understand your distaste…'_

'_Really? I find it hard to believe that'_

'_Even among the Apex Race there are those of us who felt we were doing more harm than good when we enslaved the lesser races to serve as our vassals'_

'_I take it you were one of them then?'_

'_Indeed I am…'_

'_Free her then and let us move on'_

'_As you wish'_

Lily dropped her control over Benezia's mind and said woman flopped to ground in a dead faint as her mind was suddenly left with no other presence or voice than her own.

It didn't take long to bring her back to the land of the living and it was quite visible to Echo that she wasn't feeling too well, either mentally or physically.

"What happened?" asked Benezia when she finally felt well enough to speak

"You tell me, feel any different?" asked Echo in return

Benezia's eyes widened as she searched her mind for what he could be talking about only to realize she was doing just that… _her mind_… no one else's, only hers… she was free.

Echo was not ready when Benezia's arms suddenly flew around his neck and pulled him down into a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Benezia cried into his shoulder

Slightly perplexed from the entire thing Echo let Benezia cry and laugh as she slowly came to terms with being free once again. When she finally calmed down enough to seem capable of sensible speech Echo gave her a small grin

"Feels good to be back in control doesn't it?" he asked with a grin

"To finally have the haze lifted and once more see the world with my own eyes? It is fantastic beyond explanation" she replied with her own grin

Echo lifted them both off the floor and sat them down in the bed that was in Benezia's cell. He took a few moments to formulate himself inside his mind so he didn't give up something he didn't want to.

"I want to ask you some questions before I allow Shepard and Liara back in here" started Echo

"I promise I am fully in control and will do nothing to harm them" said Benezia in a hasty tone

"Of that I am aware, had I not believed so you wouldn't be alive at this moment" replied Echo which caused Benezia to nod once "Now if I may continue. There are a few subjects I would like to talk to you about before anyone else comes in here, for now simply know that anything you and I talk about will never reach anyone else unless I deem it extremely necessary" finished Echo

"I understand, what do you wish to know?"

"Let's start with Saren and his plans, how much can you tell me?"

"Not much I'm afraid, all I know is that he is after something he calls the conduit and he needed the coordinates from the Rachni Queen's genetic memory to get to it"

'_Those coordinates lead to the Mu Relay… but I am not supposed to know that'_

"Where do these coordinates lead?"

"To a long thought lost Relay called the Mu Relay, supposedly it leads to wherever the Conduit is being held"

"Did Saren get the information?"

"He did, I managed to send it to him not long before you arrived"

"Damn…"

"May I ask a question in return?"

"Go ahead"

"Why did you wish to save me?"

Echo blinked a few times and scratched his head in thought

"I wanted to speak with you about Saren mostly, in truth I think we might still be able to get through to him some way but I don't know how…"

"You think Saren can be dissuaded from his course?"

"You don't?"

"It was my very reason for joining him in the first place… but the longer I was there the more his poison spread in my mind"

"But you do think there is a chance to save him?"

"Yes… though I am not sure how that would be possible"

"Hmm… I'm sure there is a way. But on to the other thing that I found that I wish to know about… your daughters golden biotics"

Benezia's eyes closed momentarily as she breathed out a sigh.

"I must admit I do not know as much about it as I perhaps wished too, she inherited it from her father and not myself"

"You never asked just where your partner got it from?"

"Of course I did, all she could tell me was that it had been passed down from parent to child for as long as her family could remember"

'_And I will bet if we go far enough back her and I will have a connection…'_ Echo thought privately

"Could I perhaps ask another question?"

Echo gave a nod

"How is my daughter doing?"

A small chuckle escaped him as Echo began thinking over the question, so much had happened in the short time he had known the crew and he really wasn't sure where to start on Liara.

"Honestly I don't know where to start; I think you should ask her. But as far as I know she is doing just fine"

Benezia smiled at the answer and gave a small nod, it would seem her little wing was doing just fine.

"I am quite curious as to how you freed my mind…" began Benezia carefully

Echo pointed towards the sphere outside the cell "I used that, nothing more you need to know other than I will be curing the three commando's in the next cell as well"

"I see… thank you"

"Think nothing of it" Echo rose and walked towards the door to the brig "Now how about you get some time to catch up with Liara?" asked Echo with a grin

"I would like that very much" replied Benezia

Echo nodded and opened the door to the waiting pair of Shepard and Liara. He didn't even have to speak as he simply gave a nod to Liara and watched as she darted to her mother and almost tackled her in a tearful hug.

His own arms found their way around Shepard's body and the two stood and watched as mother and daughter was reunited after god knows how long.

"It's good to see that moments like this is still possible" mumbled Echo

"It's what we fight for each day" replied Shepard

Echo smiled as he held around Shepard a little tighter as they listened in on Liara trying to sum up her entire life since her mother left while also trying to convene just how much she missed her all at the same time.

"I think I should stop her before she dies of oxygen deprivation" said Shepard

"*Snort* she's a scientist, she can speak until time stops and still have air to spare" replied Echo

Shepard gave a small laugh as she separated herself from Echo and walked up to place a hand on Liara's shoulder.

"Maybe I should get my questions out of the way and then you two can catch up?" asked Shepard with a raised eyebrow and small smile

Liara blushed ever so slightly "Of course Shepard, I'm just excited to have my mother back" replied Liara

Shepard turned towards Benezia and asked her first question. The two spent a good hour talking about everything that Benezia could possibly think of in regards to Saren and his potential plans, after that it simply turned into a big round of "20 questions" the two would trade questions and answers on just about every subject until Shepard finally ran out.

"Right I think that's good enough for now, we'll leave you two to catch up" said Shepard

"Thank you Commander" Benezia replied with a smile

With a wave Shepard left and pulled Echo alongside her, the last thing the two heard before the door closing was Benezia asking a question and then laughing loudly, presumably because of Liara's expression.

"Haaah… that's one insane event out of the way" breathed Shepard

"Only a thousand to go" quipped Echo

"*Sigh* it's a sad day when I have to agree with that"

"Hahaha I think we could both use some a good rest"

"I could definently go for some stress relief right now…" said Shepard with a grin which Echo returned

* * *

It was some six hours later that Marc and Sarah emerged from Sarah's quarters, both now feeling quite relaxed and ready to get some practice in. Though the duo didn't get very far due to a lone member sitting in the darkened mess hall, a glass of whisky in front of her and a head hung slightly from the effect of said drink.

"Ash?" asked Shepard as the two approached the table and got a better look

Ashley looked up at the two for a few brief moments

"*sigh* Hey skipper, want a drink?" inquired the tired gunnery chief

The duo looked at each other for a short second before Sarah sat down and Marc went to grab two more glasses. He returned and sat down before filling Sarah's and his own glass.

"So what is driving you up the wall Ashley?" asked Marc

Ashley looked at him with a strained expression that conveyed just how confused she was feeling at the moment

"I don't know anymore…" replied Ashley

"Liara?" tried Shepard

"*Nod* I don't know what is going on between us" said Ashley

"You love her" replied Marc in a stoic tone

"What?" asked Ashley in surprise

"Love, miss Williams, I hope you know the concept?" asked Marc with a cheeky grin

"Of course I know! I mean what makes you think I love Li?" countered Ashley in slight anger

"You just called her "Li" for one, that and you two can't keep your eyes or hands off each other" interrupted Sarah with an equal grin

Ashley's eyes fluttered for a few seconds as she imitated a gold fish while her brain tried to fuse together what the two in front of her just said with her own emotions running rampant through her mind

"I-I-I love her?" mouthed Ashley

"It happens" said Marc

"B-but I don't… how did… when did I… can it even work?" rambled Ashley

"*Shrug* A good thing only comes around once a lifetime, you owe yourself to see if you just found yours"

Once the words had left his mouth Marc's face took a dark turn as pain flashed across his eyes for a few seconds, but that was long enough for both women to see it.

'_His wife still haunts him… I knew he wasn't alright'_ thought Shepard as she watched him

"Maybe… thank you for the advice, I better go sleep before my shift starts" said Ashley as she got up and left

Shepard leaned over and gave Marc a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up as well "I have to brief the council, we'll meet down at your ship for training afterwards okay?"

"Yeah…" replied Marc in a dead tone as Shepard walked away

Moments later Marc stood up and walked down to his ship where he sat in silence and tried to sort his mind out once again, he was quite sure he would be having nightmares again.

* * *

Some hours later the ground team had gathered down in the brig, the were there to debate what they were going to do about Benezia as Shepard had not revealed her survival to the Council

"I still don't get why you didn't tell them" said Garrus

"Because I don't know how they would take it, they gave me enough trouble for releasing the Rachni Queen and I have no intent of turning over Benezia to a potential execution" replied Shepard

"So what are we going to do with her?" asked Wrex

"That's why we are here, to figure that out" replied Shepard

"Well we don't exactly have much choice do we? One way or another we have to get her off the ship before one of the crew gets a bit too curious" said Ashley

"We could hide her somewhere?" proposed Liara

"That could work but where would we put her?" countered Marc

"Not a lot of planets for reformed Saren followers" joked Garrus

"… that would have been way too convenient Garrus" said Marc

The group kept bouncing ideas back and forth not realizing that Benezia was standing there and listening and grew steadily more worried as they kept coming up with insane idea to insane idea and every so often her daughter would look at her with a look that just screamed "Aliens are insane" and she could only nod in agreement each time, finally she had enough

"Excuse me" said Benezia effectively silencing everyone

"Yes?" asked Marc

"I believe I might have the solution to your conundrum" said Benezia

"I'm open to any solution by now" muttered Shepard

"Why not fake my death?" suggested Benezia

"… why didn't anyone think of that before her?" asked Garrus to everyone

"Because we are a bunch of morons" replied Shepard

"In any case it's a good idea but still leaves the same problem, where do we leave you once we have faked your death?" asked Marc

"I could go live with my dad once more" said Benezia

"Gramps place?" asked Liara using the name she used when she was a kid to describe the man

"Why not? I presume he still lives out in the Thessian forest; no one comes to visit except for a few family friends and the Asari Keeper" replied Benezia

"Sorry but who are you two talking about?" asked a very confused Marc

"My father of course, he still lives on Thessia and I am quite sure that he will take me in until we find a way for me to reenter the world" replied Benezia

"What race is your father?" asked an equally confused Shepard

"Ehm… I'm not quite sure I should reveal that, papa always said that subject was sensitive" replied Benezia with a shaky voice

Shepard, Ashley, Kaidan and Marc being the only humans in the room all knew right as soon as she used the word "Papa" what race he was.

"**Human**" they said in unison

"What?! How do you know?" asked Benezia with wide eyes

"Papa is a word only used by humans, or at least that is what humans from specific parts of earth would use to describe their own fathers" replied Shepard

"One thing doesn't fit though… for a human to be your father you would either have to be somewhere around 80 years old, and since Liara over there is only a 106 and the fact that you are a Matriarch means you must be somewhere between 800-1000 years old… that would mean that your dad would be…" began Marc

"Papa is almost 2000 years old" interrupted Benezia

"What?!" yelled Marc

"How is that possible?" asked Shepard

"Spirits…" muttered Garrus

"How in the hell did he… I mean how can… no it shouldn't be…." Marc was rambling like a mad man as his mind tried to process just what the hell was going on

"This is why father didn't want it spread around…" muttered Benezia while rubbing her eyes

"But I think you are right mother, gramps would most likely take you in for a while. I'm sure the Asari councilor would agree that it is a good idea too" said Liara in between the chaos

"Wait the Asari Councilor knows about him?" asked Shepard as she snapped from her daze

"Of course, every Asari Councilor and Asari Keeper is told who my father is. He did help shape Thessia over the past two thousand years after all" replied Benezia

"He did a what now?" asked Marc now really confused

"My father was very intrigued by Asari architecture so he used my mother as a way to get his ideas to the Asari government, worked like a charm. Mom became a world renowned architect and papa helped us improve on a few design flaws" replied Benezia with a nostalgic smile on her face

"Gramps was one of the people who got me into archeology too, whenever we went to visit him he would tell me grand stories about the Prothean and eventually I just wanted to know more than he could tell me" said Liara with the same smile as her mother

It was all well and great that no one could see into Marc's mind or they would have seen a frantic panicked individual. The very thought that a two thousand year old human existed on Thessia blew his mind and even more so that this person had an influence on Thessia… just what in the hell… he couldn't be like him and Karick could he?

'_Wait… Karick! He and I were sent here to find someone… Eric was his name, could this guy be it? But what the hell are the chances?'_ thought Marc

"Benezia… your father's name wouldn't happen to be Eric would it?" Marc asked carefully

Everyone stopped talking as Marc's voice sounded and both Liara and Benezia froze completely.

"H-how do you know that?" asked Benezia

"Fuck…" growled Marc to himself

"Marc?" asked Shepard as she placed a hand on his shoulder

"Benezia are you a hundred percent sure that your father is still on Thessia?" asked Marc

"Last time we spoke he was still on Thessia but that is some years ago now" replied Benezia

"Double fuck…" growled Marc "You will all have to excuse me I have to go make a call, let me know what you decide to do with Benezia later Shepard" said Marc as he turned and walked out the door leaving everyone to stare after him

"What ticked him off?" asked Garrus

"I'm not sure… but I think we might just have stumbled on one of his secrets" said Shepard

"Okay all this aside. Are we going along with Benezia's plan?" asked Ashley

"*Shrug* if we can get the Asari Councilor to agree then I am sure we could arrange a false ceremony on the Citadel where we hand over her "body" to the Asari for burial, this way we could then fly to Thessia and pretend that we are escorting Liara to the funeral that will be held there and in secret drop Benezia off at her fathers?" suggested Shepard

"A good plan" agreed Benezia

"Okay people dismissed, I will be making the call to the councilor. Once we arrive everyone will have shore leave after the ceremony and we will depart first thing in the morning" ordered Shepard

Everyone slowly filed out of the room until it was only Benezia, Liara and Shepard in the room.

"Commander, if I might ask a question?" said Benezia

"What is it?" asked Shepard

"This man… just how much do you know about him?" asked Benezia

"I know enough. Though I fear he has more secrets and some of them might just have come screaming out of the closet" replied Shepard in a worried tone

"Then I fear what will be coming" said Benezia

"As do I" commented Liara

"*Sigh* I'll deal with it when I can, for now I have a call to make"

**-With Echo-**

Marc was almost running by the time he reached his ship and it didn't take him more than a few seconds to lock the door and fire up everything

"Eva call up Karick NOW!" he yelled

"_Calling… …. … …"_ replied Eva's voice

"_Karick here_"

"We have trouble!" half yelled Marc

"_How so?_" asked Karick now on alert

"I've found Eric or rather I know where he is supposed to be" replied Marc

"_Really?! How?!_" yelled Karick

"You know Matriarch Benezia?" asked Marc

"_My spies have told me a few bits and pieces since she is connected to Saren_" replied Karick

"Turns out she is his daughter" said Marc

"_What? Holy fuck… any chance you are going to find him?_" asked Karick

"We are heading to the Citadel right now, we are going to fake Benezia's death and then go to Thessia to hide her, supposedly we are hiding her with Eric" replied Marc

"_You think you can convince that Commander of yours to let me come along?_"

"I'm not giving her a choice in the matter; if she refuses you can sneak aboard the Shadow"

"_Good, good. When will you be arriving?_"

"Sometime tomorrow if everything goes according to plan"

"_I'll be ready_"

"Roger, Echo out"

The line went dead and Marc slumped into his chair with a heavy sigh, how did he keep finding himself in these situations? The entire world was changing in front of his eyes and from here on out he has no idea how the events are going to play out, as far as he was concerned saving Benezia reset everything.

Should something play out as he thought it would he would count it as a blessing and try and make it work in his favor but for now he was prepared to face everything.

Marc sat in his silence for a good long while until someone came around and knocked on his door until he opened it.

"Sarah…" he muttered

"Can I come in?" she asked

Marc stepped aside and followed her inside and sat down in front of her and the two began a small staring contest that eventually ended when Shepard looked away

"What had you flying off in such a hurry?" asked Shepard

"Remember when I told you that there might be more like me in this world?"

"Yes?"

"Eric is one of us"

"Shit…"

"My sentiment exactly…"

"What are you going to do?"

"For now I have contacted my friend and he will be accompanying us to Thessia where we can hopefully get a good talk with this Eric"

"*Nod* sounds like a plan, any thoughts on how it is going to go?"

"We are both looking for him although for different reasons so I can only hope that we learn something useful and that he doesn't just present us with more questions than before"

"*Sigh* you are going to be the death of me…"

"If I don't get myself killed first you mean"

"Exactly…"

"Well not much to do about it right now… let's go get some sleep and hopefully tomorrow will bring a better day"

Shepard stood up after her statement and began heading back towards her quarters, Marc followed silently behind her as he kept contemplating the various implications meeting Eric could have, he wasn't liking any of them.

* * *

"No please, we have done nothing!" yelled a woman

A large imposing figure was standing above the woman with a gun placed at her temple; around them lay the remains of the woman's family… or what limbs were still attached to the bodies.

"You have done, _everything!_" yelled the man in return

*Bang* the sound bounced off the walls of the home as the woman dropped to the floor as blood began running down her attackers face, he wiped it off and stared at it for a few seconds before shaking it off.

The man left the house and walked out into an erupting chaos, men and women running around screaming while their children were crying. The man walked through the chaos while the sound of his gun rang out every few seconds, stopping only when he had to reload.

A man came screaming towards him with something that looked like a pickaxe raised above his head. The man's dead blue eyes looked upon the attempt and scoffed. The civilian was almost upon him when a flash appeared and the civilian split across the stomach and a bloody geyser erupted.

"Worthless" muttered the man to himself

The sound of shuttles could be heard in the distance as the Grineer were closing in, attempting to save their colony from the attack. The man however didn't care; he was almost walking leisurely through the colony as he shot those too far away to kill with his sword.

Another one came too close and paid with first her arm and then her life. A scream rang out across the colony as a small child sped towards the man with his fist raised and tears in his eyes. The man watched in mild amusement as the presumed son of the dead woman in front of him came running… foolish

The child didn't come more than a few meters from the strange man before the same sickening flash of light appeared and the child stopped dead in his tracks as a long red gash appeared on his face, followed quickly by the upper part of his head sliding off his body…

"William!" screamed a man off in the distance

"You monster!" yelled another

The strange man didn't care as he slammed his fist into the ground sending a shockwave rippling through the sand and knock most of the surrounding people off their feet.

"Monster isn't enough…" muttered the strange man

The man approached the first one that had yelled out the name of the kid and looked him dead in the eye.

"He was your son?" came the strange man's detached voice

"Y-yes" replied the down civilian

The strange man slowly unsheathed his bladed and held it in front of the downed man

"This blade killed your son…" mumbled the strange man

In one fell swoop the blade man an arc and the downed man found his leg separated at the knee, he watched on in horror as blood splattered everywhere.

"This blade probably killed your wife as well…" continued the strange man

The blade made another arc and this time an arm flew through the air and landed in another pool of blood that had formed under another victim

"Now it will kill you…" finished the strange man

The blade made a final arc as it met the throat and silenced the screams of the downed man once and for all. The strange man stood and continued his rampage.

Hours went by as the bodies piled higher and higher and blood filled the streets alongside various dismembered body parts that had been hung on display in a fit of sadistic glee on the part of the strange man.

Among the corpses were now also armor scraps as the Grineer reinforcements had arrived and attempted to stop the strange man… only it hadn't done anything other than serve to infuriate the man even further which only made him kill faster…

"No plea AHHHH!" another fell to the man's blade and suddenly there was only silence around him…

It would seem his mission was complete… no one screaming and no one running, no platoons marching or gunfire singing… and yet he could still feel someone around him… someone was hiding.

It didn't take long to follow the feeling to a small house that seemed remarkably untouched by the chaos. The strange man opened the door and walked inside to an idyllic family home, nothing was destroyed or burnt and hell he could even smell freshly cooked food.

A small whimper alerted him to his targets location inside what he presumed to be the child's room. When he found it he opened the white door to a room that very much looked like it belonged to a roughly four year old girl.

And right there in the corner sat the girl, her face was hidden behind a mop of blond hair and her hands were keeping her knees tight against her chest while she cried. The strange man unsheathed his sword and approached the little girl, as he raised the blade and began the swing the little girl's head suddenly snapped up to reveal the pale skin of the girl and a pair of golden Irises staring into his own ocean blue…

"Why are you doing this dad?!"

* * *

"No!"

Marc shot up from the bed and stared out in to the darkness…

"*Haah* fuck"

That nightmare again, it had been plaguing him for years following the actual event and here lately it had finally started going away allowing him to sleep every so often… and yet here it is again, threatening what little peace he has found in this world

'_I need to figure this out sooner or later… can't keep going on like this'_

He turned and looked at Sarah's sleeping face and smiled at the peaceful image she was portraying lying there with a slight bit of drool leaking out of her mouth…

'_Well… not getting any more sleep tonight so might as well…'_

Marc silently crawled out of bed and put on a pair of pants and a shirt before walking out and throwing some water in his face and watched his own reflection… he looked like he just rose from the dead.

The lack of people in the mess hall was a welcome sight to his sore eyes as he almost fell into a chair in front of the center table

…

…

…

The dark is a funny thing… if one sits in it long enough your eyes adjust to it and you can make out basic shapes and sizes and in some cases even color.

But in a damaged mind the darkness thrives in ways it should never be allowed to, in the dark things that you have long kept hidden inside your brain will seek a way out and in hopes of being free…

"In the dark is where I am most vulnerable; in the dark is where my deepest fears come to light" mumbled a familiar voice

Echo looked up for a short moment and into the dark. Across from him in the opposite chair sat a man, a human to be more specific… _him_ to be even more specific. Echo easily recognized the messy hair and ocean blue eyes that had belonged to his old self, the fairly tan complexion was also a dead giveaway… this is just about how Echo would have looked had he never left his original world (and trained, of course)

"But it is in this light that I shall face my fears and conquer them, so that I may face the dark and embrace its power" mumbled Echo

"He who embraces the dark is but a fool, scared of facing the light" said "Marc" in response

"Yet I walk in the dark and the light saw it fit to follow" growled Echo

"Light and Dark are eternally connected, one cannot exist without the other" replied Marc

"A fool's belief" said Echo with a snarl

"Then you are a fool; You cannot deny that we are the same, you and I" replied Marc

"You are the past, something best forgotten" said Echo

"Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it" replied Marc in a calm voice

"And those who embrace it fear the changes that needs to be made to step into the future" rebutted Echo

"… I'm disappointed in you… what happened to us? When did we become those murderers that we so despised in the past?" asked Marc in a sad tone

"Finally had enough of speaking like a fortune cookie huh? And who cares what we have become? We are stronger than we ever were as a human, the us of today could easily have saved her…" replied Echo in an angry voice

"We are still human… I wonder just when it was we forgot that…" summarized Marc

Echo looked away for the barest of seconds as a memory flashed before him.

"Back when we killed that Grineer… our first kill…" Echo mumbled

"We did always believe that the first one takes something from you alongside them to the afterlife… our humanity seems a fitting price" replied Marc

"And yet here you sit quite obviously…" joked Echo

"I suppose I have a certain brunette to thank for that" quipped Marc

"Don't you even start, if we are the same then you are as guilty as me in that regard" replied Echo

"Marc" lifted his hands in defense "Never said anything to the contrary. You know Sivra would have wanted us to move on anyway" said Marc

"Of course she did… didn't make it any easier to accept did it?" Echo asked in a defeated tone

"Of course it didn't…" Marc answered in the same tone

"So… what are we going to do once this is all over?" asked Echo with a smile

"I truly do not know. We are looking down the barrel of at least another three years' worth of events before we can even _think_ of doing any sort of living" replied Marc with a shrug

"Hanging up our Warframe and focusing on being a good husband and father seems mighty appealing…" said Echo

"Going on the notion you two get married and have kids that is…" quipped Marc

"*Shrug* I can still dream can't I?" replied Echo

"True… mom and dad did always look forward to meeting our special other…" tears appeared in Marc's eyes as he spoke "God I miss them…"

"We will see them again, be it in this life or the next" replied Echo

Marc smiled a strange little smile as his body began vanishing slowly…

"Remember what Sivra used to say about us?" Marc asked

"*Nod* A human at home, a Tenno in the field…" began Echo

"… ever considered trying to be both at the same time" Marc finished the quote

"I think we forgot how…" said Echo

"Then perhaps… perhaps it is time we learn it again…" said Marc as the last of his body vanished into the darkness leaving Echo with is thoughts once again.

"Easier said than done" muttered Echo to the dark as he watched his little mental defect come to an end.

"I'm going insane…" he muttered out loud

Marc would have stood up and walked back to bed but the door to the med bay swooshing open and the sight of a blushing and distressed looking Ashley stopped him. She paid him little mind as she sped away an in the following moments Liara stepped out of the med-bay with a worried look on her face

"Liara" greeted Marc

Liara gave a small jump as she turned to locate who the voice had come from and visibly relaxed when she saw Marc sitting there by himself. She walked over and sat down across from him as a small sigh escaped her lips

"What troubles you?" asked Marc

Liara looked at him for a few moments before a small came to her face "It isn't I that is troubled; I do believe Ashley might just have surprised herself"

"Ohh? How so if I might ask"

"well… I assume that by now it is fairly common knowledge that Ashley and I were…"

"Intimate"

"Yes… tonight it seemed she wished to go… further… than before and it certainly was an experience"

Liara began rambling and mumbling about all sorts of things that Marc really didn't want to hear at present moment "Liara, what is wrong with Ashley?"

"Oh sorry… after we finished our _activity_ she might have blurted out "I love you" by mistake, after which she ran from the room as you witnessed a few moments ago"

Marc looked at her for a few short moments as she mumbled a few other inconsistent things to herself

"I highly doubt it was a mistake, if Ashley said she loves you then she genuinely means it. Perhaps she ran because she fears you do not return her feelings?"

"Why would she think that? I have given no indication that my feelings for her are any less then love"

"Why would she think that you _did_ when you have never told her? I mean you can show a lot with just actions but in some cases words do hit harder than anything else"

"I see… you humans are a fascinating species, I suppose I have much more to learn"

"*Snort* calling me human might be a stretch but it seems you get the general idea, though you and Ashley will face some problems in the future I am sure that if you keep it together you will have found something that many spend eternity looking for"

"Like what you have with Shepard?"

"I don't know yet, but I like to hope"

Liara gave another smile and the two fell into silence for a few short moments before Marc found another topic

"How did things go with your mother?"

Liara's eyes practically began shining at the question "Oh it has been great! Finally being able to talk with my mother about everything that has happened… I never thought I would get the chance"

"Well you did and for that I am happy. Not many get a second chance like that, make the most of it"

Whatever reply Liara had intended was stopped when footsteps sounded down the hall and the good Miss Williams appeared moments later with a rather apologetic look in her eyes.

Marc gave Liara a small smile and nodded in Ashley's direction, Liara got the hint and smiled back before standing up and walking to Ashley. It was quite clear Ashley wanted to say something but Liara stopped her by planting a kiss on her lips, when the two finally separated they were both wearing a soft smile

"I love you too"

Being the nice guy he is Marc chose _not_ to snort loudly and laugh at the almost broken expression on Ashley's face as the words registered with her. It became even more difficult to hide his snickering as Liara pulled the flabbergasted Ashley back into the med-bay and then into her quarters.

When they were finally behind closed doors "*Snort* Hahahahahahahaha!" Marc laughed long and hard over the situation, when he finally stopped laughing a small smile crept on his face as he looked out into the darkness and enjoyed the fact that two people just found each other.

"Didn't know you were a love expert" came a voice from behind him

"Never claimed to be. Those two are simply easy to read" replied Marc

"Laughing was just a bit cruel though" said the voice

"Oh you think I didn't hear you snickering over there?" said Marc as he stood up and walked over next to Sarah

"Well… it was funny" mumbled Sarah

"She looked like she swallowed a goldfish" quipped Marc

"*Snort* I'm never letting her live this down"

"You think the rest of us will? Just wait until Garrus gets word of this"

"You think we can keep Ashley from killing him?"

"Ashley? I'm more concerned about Liara…"

"That girl is scary when angry…"

The two then went back to bed and moments later they were both fast asleep once more, thankfully Marc didn't have another nightmare… at least not tonight.

* * *

The entire ground team was gathered and waiting for the docking process to finish so everyone could get on with their day. All the arrangements had been made so the "body" of Benezia could be given to the Asari Councilor who would then put it on a transport next day back to Thessia for a proper funeral.

"Everyone know the plan?" Shepard asked the gathering

"Walk around and make it look like any other shore leave and then "spontaneously" show up for the ceremony held for Benezia and make it seem like the Normandy will be escorting Liara to her mother's funeral on Thessia" summed up Tali

"If we encounter anyone that even hints at being allied with Saren we call it in and follow the individual, in worst case scenario we attempt to take said person down or otherwise stop them" continued Garrus

"Under no circumstances are we to engage an enemy alone or otherwise stray from the plan. In the case of a sudden change of plan you will inform us all over omni-tool and if we discover something that will result in the immediate change we will report it you first then the team" finished Ashley

"Good. The teams are as follow: Ash and Liara will primarily keep around the Asari to keep with the idea that Liara is grieving over her mother's death. Garrus and Tali will be patrolling the shopping areas and surrounding public spots, try to see if any group of people seem out of place. Wrex you will be keeping around the bars and other areas the local mercs like to hang out. Kaidan you will be patrolling with a squad of Alliance appointed guards, hide among them and ensure that you are ready to move out at any time. Echo you will be with me as I go and talk with the Asari Councilor"

The team gave various forms of confirmation before Echo stepped forward

"Another thing people, we will have backup on this operation from a friend of mine and his team" said Echo

"Who?" inquired Garrus

"Doesn't matter. For now all you need to know is that my friend and I trained together and he is in every category better than me. If you find yourself being assisted by anyone wearing Black and Red combat armor then assume them friendlies. Should you truly be in doubt ask them "is the Stalker Seen" if they answer "The Stalker remains Unseen" then they are with us. Any other answer and you are to turn on them immediately" said Echo

The team kept quiet but all of them had their reservations about working with someone they had never met or head about. Luckily most of the team trusted Echo enough to trust that one of his old friends wouldn't stab them in the back.

"If everything goes according to plan we will all meet again in three hours in front of the Asari embassy where they will start their "parade" of moving Benezia's body" said Shepard

Nods were exchanged all around and the team split up as soon as they left the Normandy. Shepard and Echo were the first to split from the group as they headed towards the Asari embassy for their meeting with the Asari councilor, it would seem that there was more to Benezia's father than they first thought.

"You think this will go over well?" asked Shepard

"I hope so…" replied Echo

"We are betting a lot that word of Benezia's survival did not get further than the Normandy and the Asari hierarchy. If word somehow has gotten to Saren then we can be damn sure that trouble is brewing"

"That is why you sent Wrex down to the lower wards, most of Saren's mercenaries frequents those shady holes in the ground that they call bars"

"Yeah… what about this extra information that the councilor has for us in regards to Eric?"

"To be honest I am not quite sure what to think, it could be any number of things but I sorely hope it is something that won't complicate matters further than it already is"

"You really think we are that lucky?"

"I dream and pray that one day we might be, but today? Nope"

"I thought so. What is your thoughts on meeting this guy anyway?"

"I have plenty. Though I am most interested in knowing just what the reason is for him and Karick to have been sent here in the first place, from what I have gathered I seem to be a bit of a special case in this entire mess"

"*Nod* I figured that too. But when it all comes down to it I can count on you being there to help us right?"

"Of course, whatever mission Karick and Eric has been given it was given to them. I have no connection to said mission and no reason to assist them, my most pressing concern is to ensure that we all get out of this reaper business alive"

"Thanks, I guess I needed to hear that"

"Anytime Sarah, anytime"

The two then fell into a comfortable silence that lasted until they stood in front of the door leading to the Asari councilor's private room at the embassy.

"Ready for a round in the political arena?" joked Shepard

"You ready to stop me from killing someone?" responded Echo with a flat tone

Shepard barked a laugh as she activated the doors and stepped inside the private quarters of the Councilor Tevos.

The room was definitely decorated by an Asari, the blue, purple, white and golden colors that decked the office was nothing if not a testament to that very fact. The entire left wall was a large row of windows that led out to a balcony that overlooked a long stretch of the entire presidium, quite a sight for those who had never seen it before.

In one corner stood a large white corner sofa with golden pillows that seemed it was capable of seating quite the large group, in front of the table stood an ornate purple wooden table with a glass top that looked directly into the tree from which the table was carved. If one were to look one would see a myriad of colors running through the tree due to the unique climate of the Thessian forests.

Below the table sat a blue carpet with a myriad of white Asari designs spread out from the center of the rug, which contained a golden symbol, the Asari symbol for "Unity", which was circled by three words that Echo and Shepard did not know.

The foliage in the room was a large mix of green and purple leaves and flowers. Neither Echo nor Shepard could safely identify any of the flowers that stretched out in various directions and heights, a few of them seemed vaguely familiar to them due to their likeness to human plants.

The walls were lined with quite a few pieces of art that all ranged from colors splattered across the canvas to highly detailed works of art that detailed the Asari home world of Thessia and presented it in all its glory. In addition, one rather _racy_ painting was hanging on the far wall showing the image of what Echo would swear was Aria from Omega lying across a sofa wearing nothing but a bed sheet, which covered just the bare minimum for the painting to still be displayed publically.

In front of said picture stood a desk made of what could only be the same tree as the coffee table. There was no front to the desk but even from their position, Echo and Shepard could see the intricate designs that ran along the sides of the desk, descripting what both assumed to be a specific time in Asari history. Just like on the coffee table a glass plate was making up the top of the desk and allowed for the same view into the veins of the tree from which it was carved.

Sitting at the desk was the person they were both here to see, Asari Councilor Tevos. At present time she was sitting with something open on her omni-tool, a cup of hot tea and what the two assumed to be the Asari equivalent of a bagel in front of her. Her face was the image of tranquility except perhaps for the rather small-darkened bags below her eyes betraying the councilor's lack of sleep over the past few nights.

"Ahem… Councilor?" asked Shepard in a careful tone

Tevos didn't look up from her omni-tool but rather waved to the two chairs in front of her desk before she took a stop of her tea and a bite of her breakfast.

Once the two were seated, Tevos closed down her omni-tool and turned her gaze upon the two.

"You do not make my life easy Shepard" stated Tevos

"I'm sorry?" tested Shepard with a confused look

"For once I welcome the extra work I have been given, it is not every day that my people are given back on of their most trusted Matriarchs whom we believed lost to us" Tevos then bowed her head slightly "For that you have my kind's and my own gratitude" finished Tevos

"No need to thank us Councilor, it was by a stroke of luck that we managed to bring in Benezia alive" replied Echo with a small smile

"On to business then?" began Tevos with a smile "The transfer of Benezia's casket should currently be underway and by the end of this meeting you two will be escorting me to the small service that we will be holding for one of our departed" said Tevos

"Once the ceremony is over the Normandy will then "Accompany" Liara T'Soni back to Thessia were she will be overseeing her mother's funeral" finished Shepard

"Which brings us to the primary subject of this meeting. The gentleman known as Aikar, or Eric to you I assume" said Tevos

"The supposed 2000 year old human that fathered Benezia" stated Echo

"You must understand that Aikar's situation is quite unique and for that very reason have we kept his existence as quiet as possible" replied Tevos

"I understand but I am still on my wits end with as to how he has survived for 2000 years… I mean didn't your kind find it strange that not only was an Alien on your planet but he somehow managed to outlive some of you?" asked Echo

"Of course we were curious, we even spent quite a while doing tests on him in an attempt to understand but none of the experiments yielded any positive results and we would always end up with more questions than answers" said Tevos

"Incredible… But in regards to Benezia, are we completely sure that this Aikar or Eric or whatever his name is, is capable of keeping her safe and out of the light?" asked Shepard

"*Sigh* This is where I must confess we have not been completely honest with either Benezia or Liara…" began Tevos

"What do you mean with that?" asked Shepard in a slightly worried tone

"Aikar has another name among the Asari, the one he is widely known for and is feared across the universe for as well…" continued Tevos

"Ghost" stated Echo

"What?!" yelled Shepard "Is that true?" she turned on Tevos

"It is… Aikar is the Asari's strongest military weapon nicknamed: Ghost. However, just like the reports say he went off active duty long ago and since then he has lived in his home in the Thessian forest. We kept the information from Benezia and Liara because it was far too dangerous for them to know… which is the exact same reason they don't know their mother's real name either…" finished Tevos with a saddened look in her eyes

"If Eric is Ghost then I take it Ishirah T'Zerev is Benezia's mother and Liara's grandmother?" asked Echo

"*Nod* Indeed, Ishirah was the one who asked that we kept her true name hidden from her child as she feared what would happen if some of her enemies knew of her daughter so she grew up knowing her simply as "Maria" as their father was fond of calling her" replied Tevos

"Maria… a very human name to give to an Asari… I must assume that Benezia was never allowed to accompany Ishirah whenever they went to the capital for her work in fear of Benezia overhearing her mother's true name?" inquired Echo

"That is correct so when Liara was born the truth was kept from her as well. Up until Ishirah's death a few years ago we still hadn't allowed anyone to know of her true name. Of course there was a few who were slightly outraged when they realized that one of our greatest architects were also one of the greatest Spectres to ever live" replied Tevos

"I can imagine. But what do we do about Benezia and Liara then? For one I believe you can't keep that secret for terribly much longer and given that we are going to see this person perhaps it would be good for them to know just what he has spent his life doing?" asked Shepard

"Last time I contacted Ghost he stated that he was heading towards the Citadel for some personal business and the news of Benezia's death hit him quite hard… after all I was informed a little _late_ of Benezia's survival" replied Tevos with a scowl

"Yeah sorry about that…" mumbled Shepard with a slight cough

"I haven't been able to contact Ghost since so I highly assume he is somewhere on the Citadel and that is why I called you for this meeting. Should Ghost make contact with you I must ask of you to explain to him the situation in full, hopefully that will calm him down and I won't have a major diplomatic incident on my hands" Tevos mumbled the last part with a sigh

"Is he really that bad?" asked Shepard in a curious voice

"The death of a loved one can you make do terrible things…" came Echo's sad voice

"Quite. But if everything proceeds as planned then I assume Ghost will be informed of Benezia's survival and then by the end of the week we should have Benezia living in protective custody with Ghost and we will have robbed Saren of a major ally" stated Tevos

"That is the plan. Well if you will have us excused Councilor, I think we have made all the arrangements we need for now. Should anything come up we will inform you" said Shepard as she stood and gave a slight nod of the head

"I would appreciate that, Commander" replied Tevos as she stood and shook Shepard's hand

Echo stood and followed Shepard towards the door but stopped short of leaving, there was one question that had bugged him ever since he entered the office and he really wanted to know.

"This might be slightly personal Councilor, but is that Aria T'loak in that painting?" Echo asked while indicating towards the painting behind Tevos

A small smile played across Tevos features as she turned around and gazed at the painting

"Indeed it is. Let's just say that the Queen of Omega might not be as great a gambler as she thought" replied Tevos with a devious grin

"Hmm… very well. Good day Councilor"

"To you as well"

* * *

**Aboard the Normandy down in the brig**

A sigh escaped Benezia's lips as she looked around once more upon the gray walls of her cell, they were lit up slightly by the red glowing energy field that separated her from freedom.

Currently she was taking her time in collecting her mind as she was eternally grateful towards Echo for finally freeing her from her enslavement to Saren. Once more being in control of your mind was an amazing feeling that she couldn't describe.

Her thoughts strayed to the three Commando's that was occupying the cell next to her, still unconscious and blissfully unaware of the events going on around them. The good doctor Chakwas had informed her that they were being fed through a drop and that they were kept unconscious so they couldn't cause any problems for them until Echo could get around to curing them of their indoctrination as well.

Another sigh escaped her as she looked out towards the door to the brig. Most of the Normandy was running around outside the ship trying to set everything up for the transport of her "corpse" to the Asari government. This however meant that there wasn't anyone aboard the ship that would come down and talk to her since her daughter and most of the ground team was out as well.

Thinking of her daughter made her thoughts pass towards the young Miss Williams that her daughter had seemingly grown attached to as well. Falling in love with such a short lived species always seemed like such a bad idea to Benezia but she couldn't deny that Miss Williams would without a doubt treat her little wing like a princess throughout the entirety of their life together.

*Thumb*… *Thumb*

Two heavy thumbs forced her mind elsewhere as she recognized the sound of bodies hitting the ground after being knocked unconscious… but who would such a thing aboard the Normandy? Saren couldn't possibly know… could he?

The doors parted to reveal the armor of a man she knew quite well through various missions in her youth. The man that had trained her in hand to hand combat while also being one to teach her about stealth and the like…

"Ghost… you were supposed to be dead"

Ghost stepped inside the brig and looked around for a few seconds before his gaze locked with Benezia sending the slightly shorter woman scrambling to the back of her cell in fear of the man in front off her… too many times had she seen men die to Ghost because they underestimated his abilities.

"Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated"

"I-I can see that… but how is it possible? I read the report myself; you were killed in an explosion during a raid…"

"Not really. The report might have said so but I made it out just fine. I was getting to loud Benezia, too noisy, it was time for me to step back into the Shadows and once more become the Ghost I was created to be"

"So the rumors were true… high command wanted you out of the spotlight so they faked your death… so are you still working for them?"

"No. I stopped working for the Asari government years ago, when my wife died I started doing small time missions for them to fill the time and it was there that I learned that you were somehow still alive… after the company you joined I thought you would end up dead"

"*Sigh* by all rights I probably should be…"

"What happened?"

"You know of the Armor carrying man accompanying Shepard?"

"Codename: Echo. Real Name: Marc *********. Age: Unknown. Marital Status: Dating Commander Sarah Montez Shepard. Military History: None listed. Personal History: No known data about him from before a year ago"

"Yes that would be him… from what I have gathered he requested that I be brought in alive rather than killed down on Noveria, supposedly it was first to speak with me but following I learned his true motive behind keeping me alive"

"What would that motive be?"

"Have you now noticed how freely I seem to be acting?"

Below his mask Ghost's eyebrow rose at Benezia's words… it took a few moments but when his mind finally processed just what she had referred to he stared at her in wide eyed wonder and disbelief

"He cured you… but how?"

"I don't think I should tell you, the process was not without pain but he managed to wrestle my mind from Saren's control and for that I am him eternally grateful"

"I… see…"

"What was your purpose to come see me? If it was simply to confirm whatever I was alive or not then you can quite clearly see that I am alive and breathing, something that I am sure of high command is very much aware of"

"No… no… I came here for more personal reasons really… tell me do you know the name of your mother?"

"What sort of question is that? Her name was Marie of course I remember"

"You are lying… you know that is what she was called but I can hear it in your voice, you know her real name"

"You mean Ishirah T'Zerev the universally famous Spectre?"

"Yes…"

As ghost began tapping away at his omni-tool something seemingly fell into place in Benezia's mind as she made the connection that she should have made a hundred years ago when she first found out… Ishirah was universally known as having a relation to Ghost, there was even rumors that the two had a child together…

"You are…"

Whatever words she had planned to say was interrupted when the barrier between them vanished and Ghost removed his helmet and a pair of watery purple eyes locked with her own. Before she could react Ghost had grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.

Emotion ran rampart through Benezia as memories came crashing to the front of her mind. Images of her as a child and the man that had raised her… images of her waking up screaming and crying during the night and how her father would rush into the room to comfort her… memories of how he would always be right there to comfort her when she had her heart broken… how proud of her he was when he first saw her with a newborn Liara in her arms…

"Papa…"

The word was barely above a whisper and that one word broke the damn and Benezia held on to her father like he was going to vanish otherwise as tears streamed down her face.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Ghost kept repeating the words over and over again as he held on to his daughter.

"Please don't apologies papa…"

"No. I should have done something, damn the consequences I should have saved you!"

*Slap* Ghost stumbled slightly as Benezia's palm made contact with his cheek

"Stop it! Don't you dare blame yourself for this! You are here now… this is more than I ever thought I would get a chance to experience again…"

"Never again… never again will I leave you behind my little angel… from now on we stand together"

The two stood in silence and embraced each other as father and daughter was finally reunited after so many years of separation. For one of them it was though so much more as his entire reason for living was finally returned to him.

"Ehm papa… how did you get in here?"

"Hahaha. Most of the Normandy is running around outside so sneaking in was no problem and the two guards out front barely saw anything before I knocked them out"

"Oh… so I assume you know of our plan?"

"Ehh… no not really. I got so caught up in the thought that you might still be alive that I rushed here without getting anymore information"

"*Sigh* that is just like you papa… Right now the crew of the Normandy is preparing to hand over my "corpse" to the Asari so it can be transported for a proper burial on Thessia, Commander Shepard is meant to accompany Liara to Thessia so she can attend my "funeral" and from there we would have smuggled me out to your home in the forest and then I would have lived there until Saren had been dealt with"

"I see… good plan, I assume you came up with that one?" Benezia nodded "As I thought… I suppose I can accompany you on your flight"

"You think Commander Shepard will allow you?"

"I don't think she gets a choice in the matter" stated Ghost with an icy tone

"Don't do something stupid papa, we don't need an incident"

"I know, I know… I'm just happy to have my little angel back"

"As am I. Perhaps we could sit down with Liara once we are on route to Thessia and the three of us could talk… there is so much to tell you"

"Anything you want little angel, anything you want"

"Good. Then perhaps you can answer one question for me?"

"Sure…"

"How could you keep it hidden from me and Liara just who you and mama were!?"

Ghost winched at her tone as one thought kept repeating itself in his mind '_Have mercy…'_

* * *

**A/N: MERRY MOTHERFUCKING CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE! (Or your regional/religious equivalent)**

**Do you have any idea how long this took? Well you do since it took as long as from the last released chapter until now… but anyhow this chapter is finally done and I can relax for the rest of my Christmas break and then it is right back to school and writing. **

**I tried to see if I could actually describe a room this time around with Tevos office so if you guys could drop a review/PM about how I did with that then I would love the feedback on that one since I would like to be able to better describe the areas that I have to make up since you don't see them in the games.**

**Aside from that we got to some important plot points in this chapter and I am actually quite happy with where we are in the story right now. **

**Next time we will be dealing with how Karick and Echo handle meeting Eric and the communication between the three. **

**I hope everyone enjoys the new years and that you remember to keep safe with goggles and gloves, see you all in 2015!**

**-BundleJumper**


	15. Chapter 15

**Location: Presidium Shopping District, Squad 2: Garrus and Tali**

With a sigh Garrus lowered his arm as the omni-tool's light dimmed and turned off, they had found nothing on their patrol so far –a good thing most would say- and it was bugging Garrus something so fiercely. This constant feeling of something moving in the edge of his vision was starting to grate on his nerves and only the occasional word from Tali kept him from lashing out against the object.

Glancing over towards Tali all Garrus really saw was the back of her body as she was currently talking to a rugged looking Quarian who seemed to be down on his luck and looking for credits, odds were that he had some good information as most Quarian's always did. While looking over her Garrus couldn't help but notice that her waist looked quite sturdy…

'_Mind out of the gutter Vakarian! She isn't even considered an adult by her own species yet… you've put away enough creeps like that, no need to become one'_

Shaking his head to banish the thoughts Garrus only managed to make Wrex's words echo in his mind and he had to restrain a growl of annoyance on the subject.

"Something wrong Garrus?" Tali's voice breached the borders of his mind and Garrus turned his gaze back onto her

"Nothing really, I just have a bad feeling about this entire thing…" replied Garrus in a half mumble

"Well according to Son'Vidor the word down in the wards is that everyone is to stay clear of the ceremony, no one wants to potentially get on Saren's bad side by messing up a revenge operation"

"That's good news… in a way. Did he say anything else?"

"Not in regards to ceremony no…"

"I take it this _other_ he mentioned is somehow related to him looking slightly in pain?"

"Bosh'tet…" With a chuckle from Garrus the two resumed their patrol.

Nothing of note happened the following hour, the most fascinating thing that happened was when a human broke up with an Asari and the ensuing loud debate.

"Garrus can I ask you a question?"

"Sure"

"What do you think of Echo?"

Garrus stopped momentarily in surprise before resuming his stride and catching up with Tali

"You might have to be a little more specific…"

"I mean what do you think of him? The way he acts the way he talks"

"Well I've talked with him a few times here and there, most about random things mind you, and so far he seems like a fairly decent guy. Not one for much social interaction with large crowds but seems comfortable enough around with the occasional individual. Why are you asking?"

"I'm just curious about him. He comes down to engineering all the time, mostly to speak with the head engineer but he stops and talks with me most of the time"

"Really? I didn't think you two did much talking after… his introduction…"

"You mean when he threatened to kill me?"

"Yeah… that"

"I admit I was a little scared of him at first… at least until he spent an entire night sitting down in engineering talking to me when I began missing my home. After that he just showed up from time to time and talked to me about the engine of the Normandy… did you know he thinks it's insufficient in design?"

"Really? Wasn't it co-developed by Turians?"

"*Nod* Yeah it was, he asked for the blueprints and looked them over once before he began mumbling about useless parts and things that could be solved so much easier with a material he refers to as "Rubedo" he claims that it would increase the energy output by 20%..."

"Rubedo?"

"He won't tell me, whenever I inquire about it he just mumbles something about it being secret and that he couldn't get his hands on more anyway"

"He likes his secrets, not much we can do about that"

"*Sigh* I suppose not, I just wish he would share more of his ideas with me… though I question his sanity on some points as well"

"*Chuckle* We all do"

"He actually suggested that we could make peace with the Geth, **peace** with the **Geth!** Hah!"

"I will admit that seems… extreme… but who knows"

"I do and it won't happen"

A Shrug later and the two were resuming their patrol… or they would have had an armored human not dropped in front of them wearing complex black and red battle armor that looked vaguely like Echo's own.

"One of Echo's friends?" asked Tali a little worried

"One way to check. Is the Stalker Seen?" asked Garrus using the –he thought- ridiculous code phrase

"The stalker remains unseen" replied the woman

"Friendly it seems" mumbled Garrus

"My Master asked me to contact you and pool our data, have you found anything of use?" inquired the woman

"Not anything alarming, at most we heard a rumor that the less lawful citizens of the Citadel were told to stay away from the ceremony" replied Tali

"*Sigh* so nothing on your end either? I talked to a few contacts and I heard just about the same" said the woman in a tired tone

"It's about time to join up with the others, care to join us?" asked Garrus

"I'll be reporting back to my team in a few minutes myself so no thanks. Though do you mind filling in a piece of information for me?" inquired the woman in return

"Shoot" said Garrus

"Do you trust Echo?" she asked

"I do, why?" stated Garrus

"Because despite my Masters assurance, I don't" replied the woman before she turned and disappeared into the crowd

"Cheerful girl isn't she?" mumbled Garrus

"*Shrug* let's get going, we don't want to miss the ceremony" said Tali

Garrus nodded and the two began walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

**Location: Bar "The Pit" in the lower Wards, Squad 3: Wrex**

Loud music was roaring around in the rather spacy bar as a few guests –mostly prostitutes and their customers- danced wildly in an attempt to add some sort of normality to their evening. The bartender –a human surprisingly- was cleaning some glasses with a cigar in his mouth, he was watching over the various patrons in his bar and never strayed far from the shotgun beneath the counter.

The various women walking the floor was sparsely dressed to put it mildly, most of them carried a tray with drinks heading towards waiting thugs and other assorted lowlife. Though among the rubble there were those that used the stench to hide their own. Mercs and assassins were aplenty to find in this forgotten pit of foulness.

And who else is one to find sitting in the corner with a bottle of Ryncol and passive mein on his face, none other than Urdnot Wrex of course. He had chosen this particular bar for the above mentioned reasons, if you wanted information on anything going down then it was certainly here you could get it.

Looking around he quickly saw a few familiar faces, be they mercs or simple low life that he had –extracted- information from in the past. Most of them was so far out in their drunken haze so they wouldn't be able to provide him with anything useful, not beyond the usual responds of "gurgle brblll garrbllee" that accompanied a drunk interrogation.

"Urdnot Wrex?" came a hard voice

Wrex turned his head and glared at the human standing there. He was a rather frail looking one –at least according to Wrex- with black hair and blue eyes… he wore a fancy suit that made him stand out like a beacon in this shithole of a bar.

"What do you want?" grumbled Wrex

"My employer has expressed interest in having you return to his employment. I was sent here to make that happen" replied the man

Wrex looked over the human again, he gave no immediate indication for whom he worked but it didn't take Wrex long to figure out, only one guy would send someone to rehire him

"Tell the Shadow Broker that I don't give a shit" growled Wrex

The man's mien –that until then had been peaceful- turned into one of mild annoyance at the news

"That is… most displeasing to hear. Are you certain there is nothing I can do to change your mind?" inquired the man

Wrex rose from his seat and put his face a centimeter from the mans and grunted sending a wave of air out that ruffled the front of the man's perfect hairdo

"If I ever need something that only a pipsqueak like you can provide then you can be sure I don't really need it" grumbled Wrex

"I see… then I must apologies Mr. Urdnot" said the man

The man had reached for something near his leg as he spoke but he never managed to reach it since Wrex had already grabbed him by the front of his suit and thrown him clean across the bar and right into a group of noisy turians.

The turians reacted as one would expect and threw the guy at who they suspected threw him in the first place and soon the entire bar descended into chaos as accusation flew around closely followed by fists. Of course Wrex wouldn't miss out on the entertainment and happily joined the fight, breaking a few noses and bones where appropriate.

As the brawling died down everyone began moving back to their seats or out the bar to find some treatment for their wounds and the bartender began counting the dead bodies _'Only three this time, lucky me…'_ though the bartender as he looked them over again… a certain suited individual was lying among the passed out and dead bodies and seemed to have stopped breathing… unfortunate.

Wrex himself was making his way out of the bar with a few new scratches on his armor and nothing else, a disappointing bar brawl if you ever asked him. Though he had overheard some chumps earlier mumbling about not messing with the ceremony later today, wasn't worth the trouble they said.

"Are you the one called Wrex?" came a strong gruff voice as Wrex left the bar

Wrex turned and stared at the speaker, it was a large fellow in black and red armor with muscle to spare. One of those people working with Echo he suspected.

"What do you want?" grumbled Wrex

"I was sent by my master to pool information" replied the large man

"Then keep up, I've got other places to be" grumbled Wrex as he began walking and the large man follow.

* * *

**Location: Presidium Hall A-2, Squad 1: Ashley &amp; Liara**

"Remind me to give my uncle more credit in the future… keeping up this fake smile is killing my face" mumbled Ashley as she stared out over the assembled people attending Benezia's memorial service.

"Even I will admit that it is taxing on the jaw… to think my mother did this for nearly 600 years…" said Liara with a bit of pride

"She's one though lady that's for sure" replied Ashley

Liara stifled her reply as they noticed another Asari heading their way with a sad expression on her face, it was just about as fake as the corpse in the closed coffin at center of the hall.

"Oh Liara dear you have my deepest sympathies" said the woman

"Thank you madam, I appreciate it" replied Liara with a small smile

The woman nodded and continued walking making Ashley and Liara release a sigh of relief as they had feared she might wanted to stay and chat.

"Are you also getting the feeling that we are closing in on the end?" asked Ashley with a troubled expression

"*Nod* I will admit I have had similar feelings of anticipation… it is like we have just entered the calm before the storm as you human's say" replied Liara

"And while we are busy pretending the storm isn't coming Saren is getting a bigger step ahead…" grumbled Ashley

"We will stop him" stated Liara in a tone brokering no argument

"I'm not doubting that… I'm just worried who we are going to lose along the way" muttered Ashley as her eyes focused on Liara

"You need not worry about me, I can protect myself just fine" said Liara

"I'll worry about you until I die Li, nothing to do about that now" quipped Ashley with a large smile

Liara shook her head with a smile.

The longer the event kept going the more people came to give their condolences to the grieving daughter and more and more was both women wishing that they could leave.

In the other of the hall Ashley noticed Shepard and Echo walking through the door with Councilor Tevos right behind them, she gave a quick confirming nod to Shepard and then turned her head once the gesture had been returned.

"They are here" said Ashley

"I see them. Tevos will most likely be coming over here now" replied Liara

"Personal or business?" inquired Ashley

"Both I suspect" replied Liara

Ashley nodded and both women watched as Tevos greeted a few asari along the way and shook a few hands and gave a few hugs before she stood before them with a smile

"Miss T'Soni you have my deepest condolences for the loss of your mother" said Tevos in what sounded like genuine sadness

"Thank you Councilor, I appreciate it" replied Liara

"Could I perhaps speak to both of you in private?" inquired Tevos

"Of course" replied Liara with a nod

Tevos led the two women through the crowed and into a small side office that wasn't completely isolated from the rest of the hell but still private enough to have a conversation

"Liara I will not lie, the Keeper and I have had our doubts that your mother will be able to rejoin Asari society, we fear that her mental state might have been too damaged after being brainwashed by Saren" said Tevos

"I can assure you that after extensive conversation with my mother I have found no proof that her mind is failing in any way and she should be fully capable of rejoining society but I suggest waiting until after we have dealt with Saren" replied Liara

Tevos smiled at the news, she had in fact expected something far worse since the effects of the brainwashing wasn't exactly known to either her or the keeper so they had had their reservation about the entire situation.

"That is excellent news Liara. But I must admit I am curious about a few particulates of information but we can always cover that at a later date if need be" said Tevos

"Of course Councilor, has there been any news on my grandfather yet?" inquired Liara

"Sadly not, Aikar seems quite determined to say hidden this time and as you very well know that means he won't be found until he wishes" stated Tevos

"*Sigh* Indeed, gramps always was like that…" mumbled Liara with a sigh

"I must ask that you show caution should you meet him, I don't know what his intention are at present moment" stated Tevos

"Of course Councilor, we'll look out for him" replied Ashley

"Thank you. Now Miss Williams what can you tell me about the hunt for Saren?" inquired Tevos

"Everything you should need to know will be in Commander Shepard's reports Councilor" stated Ashley

Tevos caught the look in Ashley's eyes and quickly put together the pieces. This might be a private room but there could still be ears listening and while a rumor of Benezia's survival could be allowed and even quenched should it need be, should any information about the hunt for Saren slip and reach him it could potentially endanger countless lives.

"Very true Miss Williams, I shall defer to the Commander's reports for answers then" stated Tevos

The three moved back out to the gathering and greeted a few people along the way until they arrived at the center of the gathering where they split up so Tevos could mingle a little and Liara could continue her charade.

"Thanks for staying with me for this" said Liara

"Don't mind it Li, I hate politicians with a passion so I would never let anyone go through something like this alone" replied Ashley

"Should we go join the Commander and Echo then?" offered Liara

Ashley shook her head "Let's stay here for a while longer, if either of them needed us they would have come to us"

"Then perhaps I should prepare you for the inevitable encounter with my grandfather" stated Liara with a teasing grin

"… why do I feel like he will hate me?" asked Ashley with concern

"Gramps was always very vocal about his distrust of humans and wish for me to never date one… but I think he will come around, you are very likable" said Liara with an assuring smile

"God help me" muttered Ashley

* * *

**Location: Presidium Hall A-2, Squad 4: Shepard &amp; Echo**

"They certainly make a big thing out of this don't they?" mused Shepard

"They believe one of their Matriarchs are dead, I think they are entitled to be a bit extravagant but I have no doubt that half of this also simply a staging ground for political warfare" replied Echo

"Have to agree with you there, even a few humans among here" said Shepard

"Not anyone I recognize" muttered Echo

"Well, well, well if it isn't Commander Shepard herself, first human specter and our favorite customer!" yelled a loud voice

Shepard and Echo turned their heads towards the voice but only Echo had a visibly surprised face, there were actually two people and they both looked extremely similar… twins it would seem.

"What are you two tricksters doing here? I refuse to believe you have gone political" said Shepard with a large grin as the pair approached

"Brother mine I think she is disrespecting us!" gushed one of them

"Noooo of course not Brother dearest, Shepard would never!" gushed the other

"But anyhow Shepard we were wondering…"

"If we could perchance convince you to give us…"

"A short endorsement for our Citadel Branch…"

"Somewhere in the near future when you come by the store…"

"We would really appreciate the support…"

"Would also help since we are trying to get…"

"A foothold on Thessia which is why we are here"

Echo had watched the tennis match between the two and was doing his utmost from saying something incredibly stupid but there is one thing he just had to ask.

"Apologies for interrupting gentlemen, you wouldn't happen to be called Gred and Forge now would you?" inquired Echo

The twins gasped audibly as they both stared at Echo

"We are famous brother mine!" yelled Gred

"So it would seem brother dearest… but who are you?" inquired Forge

Shepard attached herself to Echo's arm in a slightly possessive manner before getting a teasing grin on her face that, in truth, made Echo slightly scared… it reminded him of a few bad moments in his past

"Fred and George allow me to introduce you to my boyfriend, Marc" stated Shepard with a smile

Shepard had barely finished her sentence before she released Marc's arm and stepped to the side as the twins suddenly began swarming around Marc taking in every inch of him with contemplative stares. Marc suddenly felt slightly betrayed…

"Hmm… assessment brother mine?" inquired George

"Well built, looks capable in a fight…" began Fred

"Are we suspecting a good head on his shoulders?"

"Certainly brother mine, else Sheppy wouldn't have chosen him"

"Good point, does he seem a capable husband and father?"

"He has been one and was to be the other before she died, any other old wounds you two wish to reopen?" offered Marc with an irritated stare

Both twins stopped abruptly before stepping in front of Marc and bowing their heads slightly with visibly red ears

"We humbly apologies for our rudeness we were not aware…" they said together

"Apology accepted. Always be mindful of what you chose to say, what can be considered good fun might strike hard with certain individuals" replied Marc

Shepard stood to the side with her head in her hands muttering curses at the twins, the one bloody thing they had to avoid and they dive head first into the pavement.

"In other matters… Sheppy?" asked Marc with a visible grin

Both twins lifted their heads with evil glints in their eyes as they turned and stared at Shepard with growing grins.

"I think we are going to make fast friends!" said Fred as he slung his arm around Marc's shoulder

"Could you fill us in on some of the juicy details since Sheppy took control of the Normandy?" asked George

"I can think of a few moments worth noting…" mumbled Marc from between the two

"You two! GONE!" roared Shepard with a reddening face

The twins separated from Marc and bolted but not before shouting to Marc to find them for a beer later.

"I like your friends" said Marc with a smile

"Speak one word to them about _anything_ and you will regret being born" hissed Shepard

"So no talking about the panda panties?" quipped Marc and then quickly ducked under the fist aiming for his face.

"I swear I am going to kill you…" said Shepard darkly

"Not before introducing him to your mother, applecheeks" came a new voice

"Oh come on!" yelled Shepard to no one as she turned and faced the impressive visage of Captain Hannah Shepard

Marc was in his own little state of panic as he took a few unconscious steps backwards in a vague attempt to escape his fate… he never liked meeting the parents of his girlfriends, it never went well.

"Is that a way to speak to your mother?" asked Hannah in a stern tone

"No… hello mom…" muttered Shepard in reply

"Better girl, now how about you introduce me to this young gentleman?" asked (ordered) Hannah

"Well mom… this is Marc, my boyfriend… and I don't think you can call him "young" to be completely honest" replied Shepard with a bit of a flinch

"Oh? How old are you my boy?" inquired Hannah

"354 ma'am and counting" replied Marc in a robotic tone

Hannah blinked before throwing her head back and releasing a hearty laugh, at least until she noticed that neither Marc nor Sarah was laughing along with her.

"You're serious?" asked Hannah

"I'm afraid so ma'am" replied Marc with a shrug

"How is that even possible?" mumbled Hannah

"Genetic manipulation and nerve rending experiments" lied Marc

"Oh… didn't know they had the tech back in those years" said Hannah with a bit of an accusing tone

"Whatever you believe me or not ma'am is entirely up to you. Not to be rude but you seemed to have sought out your daughter for some business, I shall leave you to it" replied Marc before turning around and preparing to leave

"You don't need to leave, this isn't something terribly important" Hannah then turned towards Shepard and pulled out a file "Here you go applecheeks, I saw you tried to access the files. If you wanted to know more about the family all you had to do was ask" stated Hannah

Marc looked over Shepard's shoulder and down to the front of the folder, it was clearly labeled

_Tenno, Hayden  
File #12520  
Personal Files and connections_

"Is this everything we have on him?" asked Shepard after she saw how thin the file was

"All that you can get without visiting the old family mansion back on earth" replied Hannah

"What did you mean when you said "Know more about the family"?" asked Marc with a hint of worry in his voice

"Well both myself and applecheeks here are direct decedents of Hayden Tenno, why are you asking? Wasn't that the entire reason for trying to access his files in the first place, to learn more about our family?" Hannah had directed the question to Shepard

"I was doing a bit of digging and his name came up so I tried to check it out, didn't know we were related" replied Shepard in slight shock

"Well our family tree is included in the file all the way back to Hayden so you can check yourself how we are related. If you need anything else on him however, then you need to go back to earth and look in the old archives" said Hannah

"Oh sure… thanks for bringing me this mom but couldn't it have waited until after the ceremony?" inquired Shepard

"I was coming here anyway so I figured might as well get two birds with one stone" replied Hannah

"Paying your respects to an Asari Matriarch, didn't think I would see it from you of all people" said Shepard with a raised eyebrow

"Believe it or not but I actually knew Benezia" stated Hannah making both Sarah and Marc stare with slightly open mouths

"How… when… I mean… what?" rambled Sarah

"Met her some 25 years ago while on leave here on the Citadel, we got along and kept in contact every so often. It hurt when I found out that she had joined up with Saren, but I suppose death by combat would be her way of going out after all" mumbled Hannah with a lowered gaze and hazy eyes

"Small universe…" muttered Marc

"I'm sorry mom, there wasn't a way around it" said Sarah

"It's okay sweety, I knew there wasn't any other way out. I better go mingle a little" said Hannah as she straightened her back

"Sure, make some time for dinner in the future?" offered Sarah

"Of course but only if you bring your boyfriend there" said Hannah with a wink

"It'll be my pleasure ma'am" responded Marc with a slight bow

Hannah nodded in response and turned and walked off into the crowd and soon enough disappeared leaving the two to release a breath relief.

"You handled that rather well" said Sarah

"Thanks… I hate meeting the parents…" mumbled Marc in response

"I know the feeling… sorry" said Sarah with a sad smile

"Don't mind it… I've come to terms with their deaths long ago, but I will admit having you meet them would be nice" replied Marc

"Well now we are back to this file I guess…" began Sarah

"It should provide some good Intel, hopefully something useful" mumbled Marc

"Just one thing… you knew of Hayden Tenno but you come from a different Dimension… how can that be possible?"

"Multi-Dimensional Theory, the belief that for each action a dimension is created where that outcome is primer for the following events. A slightly outdated notion but I have found that there a certain similarities between this Dimension and my old one, Hayden being one of them… Perhaps we should wait with reading it until my friend joins us, he has more knowledge on Hayden than me so he could potentially fill some gaps for us if we find them"

"Sounds like a plan, any idea when he will be here?"

"Give him ten minutes and he should be showing up, I suggest we find somewhere private for that conversation"

"There's a dozen meeting rooms in the building, we'll just grab one"

"Works for me"

The two paced the hall and ate some food as they watched who was around them, they passed by Ashley and Liara and got updated on their end of the situation. They watched slowly as the other teams began slowly moving in to the hall, the information from Garrus and Tali was a welcome relief as that at least meant that small-fry wouldn't attempt anything.

Wrex hadn't learnt anything of note and the constant updates she got from Kaidan didn't show any signs of trouble around the hall itself, a few minor disturbances that didn't have anything to do with the ceremony itself.

Finally Marc saw the familiar red and black clothed man walk through the door and the two made eye contact for barely a second before information was exchanged and Marc began leading Sarah out of the hall and towards one of the side offices, once inside they both sat down and waited. Three knocks came from the door and then two more in a distinct way, a code Karick and Echo developed together years ago.

"Come in" called Shepard

Karick walked in and gave a nod to Shepard and Marc before sitting down

"It's good to finally meet you Commander Shepard, Echo has spoken highly of you. You can call me Karick" said Karick

"Thank you Karick, Marc has spoken remarkably little about you other than you are dangerous and in the same situation as him" replied Shepard

Karick caught the hidden meaning that she knew he was from a different dimension but he also caught on to the fact that she mentioned it like that was everything, meaning that Echo hadn't told her everything that he had told him… not smart.

"I thank you for giving me this chance to further progress with my mission" stated Karick with a slight nod

"Think nothing of it. But before we go and meet up with this Eric person we have something to show you" stated Marc

"Something interesting I take it?" asked Karick

"See for yourself" stated Shepard as she opened the file and removed a small metal disk from above the papers before closing the file and sliding it across the table to Karick

When Karick's eyes brushed over the title the widened in surprise and he quickly opened it and began scanning through the papers with remarkable speed before in the end slumping back into his chair and sighing in relief

"Thank god… it isn't there" breathed Karick

"I take it Hayden's so called "biggest secret" isn't in there?" inquired Marc

"No and thank god for that… I wouldn't be able to handle that" answered Karick

"Anyone care to enlighten me?" asked Shepard

"The Hayden Tenno of our dimension held a great many secrets. His biggest one, if present in this dimension, could send your dimension hurling into chaos" replied Karick

"Which reminds me… Karick, what of the virus? What could have happened to it here?" offered Marc

"Excellent question… one would assume that this time around it was contained?" responded Karick

"Virus? Out of the loop here people" interrupted Shepard

"The Technocyte Virus was a bioweapon created by the American government at the time. When it was released it wiped out most of earth's population, those of us that were left followed Hayden into our golden age and eventually beyond the stars" replied Karick

"What about a cure?" offered Shepard

"Couldn't be made, at least we couldn't. I can't say if the disease ever existed in your world or if perhaps a cure was made but fact of the matter is that it didn't happen" replied Karick

"One can only be thankful for that. But before we go on let's see what's on this" Shepard waved the small disk "before going any further"

With that Shepard placed the small disk and watched as a small hologram appeared with Hayden's name in it

"This is a data-disk, virtually reconstructed files that react to voice commands. It has everything related to Hayden Tenno that my mother could have gathered, so if we have something specific we simply ask" stated Shepard

"Hayden Tenno, family tree" stated Karick without hesitation

The hologram shimmered for a few seconds before a list appeared with names and dates running downwards.

_Hayden Tenno, age 35 –Fathers Michael Tenno in 2014 (First Generation)  
Michael Tenno, age 30 – Fathers Mary Ann Tenno in 2044 (Second Generation)  
Mary Ann Tenno, age 29 – Mothers Maria Jefferson nee Tenno in 2073 (Third Generation)  
Maria Jefferson nee Tenno, age 31 – Mothers Martin Jefferson in 2104 (Fourth Generation)  
Martin Jefferson, age 25 – Fathers Hannah Montez Shepard nee Jefferson in 2129 (Fifth Generation)  
Hannah Montez Shepard nee Jefferson, age 23 – Mothers Sarah Shepard in 2152 (Sixth Generation) _

"Direct line from top to bottom. No mention of any spouses though" mumbled Marc

"Michael… Hayden had a wife called Angelina but she died while he was dealing with the first outbreak. Didn't happen here it would seem" said Karick as he kept looking at the list

"So that's mom's side of the family… I've never met any of them" stated Shepard

"I think I might have something… List cause of death for every diseased member of the Tenno family line" ordered Marc

The images shimmered and changed until a new list formed.

_Cause of death, Hayden Tenno:  
Hayden Tenno died due to unlisted circumstances, reports suggest he was assassinated for unknown reasons. Later it was determined that it most likely the now defunct "Agency" branch of the American government that ordered the assassination._

_Cause of death, Michael Tenno:  
Michael Tenno died of a heart attack in 2084 at age 70. The autopsy revealed it to be completely natural and was in no way connected to the Virus._

_Cause of death, Mary Ann Tenno:  
Mary Ann Tenno died in 2077 when she was killed in a military raid that was conducted on her family's vacation home in Mexico; the group that attacked was a known terrorist cell that was opposing the study into further space flight._

_Cause of death, Maria Jefferson:  
Maria Jefferson died in 2150 at the age of 77 from old age, autopsy showed that her body had advanced in age due to an –at the time- unknown disease._

_Cause of death, Martin Jefferson:  
Martin Jefferson died in 2159 during the First Contact war, he was killed by Decter Vakarian in combat.  
Notation: Following the First Contact War, Decter Vakarian asked permission to visit Martin Jefferson's grave to pay his respects to what he considered "One of the few Honorable Alliance soldiers" that he had fought against._

All three were sitting in silence as Shepard digested some of the reasons for their deaths while Marc and Karick had both zeroed in on the exact same piece of information.

"Karick, Michael Tenno…" muttered Marc

"I know, I saw it too… could it be?" replied Karick

"Decter Vakarian… my grandfather was killed by Garrus ancestor?" whispered Shepard to herself

"Decter Vakarian… I would say either it is his Father or Grand-father, unless Garrus has an uncle" supplied Marc

"The universe is a lot smaller then we think" muttered Karick

"That it is… that it is…." Said Marc

"Do you think Garrus knows?" asked Shepard with a sad expression

"I suspect not, it might be an idea to tell him though" replied Marc

"Yeah… I think I will" said Shepard

"There was something else that caught my eye Shepard… Disk, expand on the "Virus" that Michael Tenno suffered from" ordered Karick

Everyone watched in fascination as the text swirled and changed. The words that appeared sent chills down the two Tenno's spines.

_Technocyte Virus_

"So it was real?" wondered Shepard

"It would seem so" replied Marc

Karick didn't answer as he was reading the text on the virus. It summed up the virus in whole and from what he could see… nothing was different from the original which begs the question on how they managed to developed a cure when his own people could not.

"This merits further investigation… wait a second…" Karick muttered, something down at the end of the report had caught his attention

_As the original carrier of Technocyte Virus, Hayden Tenno passed down the virus to his son Michael Tenno who in turned passed it on. Past Mary Ann Tenno there was no other experiments done on the bodies post mortem so it is unknown if the virus passed further, but in the case of Mary Ann Tenno the virus had assimilated into her body at the cellular level and posed no further danger._

"According to this there is a chance that you, Shepard, and your mother might carry the virus inside you to this day… however watered down a version it might be" stated Karick

"That's not very good is it?" inquired Shepard

"According to this it shouldn't actually hurt you in any way, though I would love a blood sample to test it out myself" said Marc

"Since when did you start studying blood?" inquired Karick with a curious smile

"Since I was changed all those years ago, if I could get a sample from a regular person and then one from Shepard I can compare them and we can see what Eva can tell us" replied Marc

"So I won't suddenly fall over and die or anything?" asked Shepard in a half joking tone

"Not unless there is some other disease you suffer from" replied Marc

"Oh goody…" deadpanned Shepard

"Okay I think we have spent enough time rummaging around in the past, time to deal with the present. The ceremony should be over by now so we need to gather everyone and head back to the ship" stated Marc

"With a little luck we might meet Eric along the way" said Karick

"Let's move" ordered Shepard

With a nod the two followed. They quickly took the round and found the rest of the team and soon the entire ground team (minus Kaidan) was walking towards the Normandy with Karick and his team behind them. Shepard gestured for Garrus to walk alongside her.

"What is it Shepard?" inquired Garrus

"We were doing some digging in my family history and came across something interesting, ever head the name Martin Jefferson?" countered Shepard

"Martin Jefferson… that is the human that dad used to talk about back after the war, my father and his squads were apparently engaged in a firefight and eventually it was only the two of them left; it resulted in a close quarters fight. Dad won the fight but not before Michael managed to slice open the upper left of my dad's torso with a hidden knife" replied Garrus

"Do you know how Martin died?" asked Shepard with a downcast look

"Dad used to tell me the story all the time, he used Martin as an example of how one should take defeat when it meant death. My dad broke both of Martin's arms and when Martin knew he couldn't fight any longer he asked for a clean death and stood tall as my father killed him with a quick shot to the head, painless and honorable" replied Garrus with a somewhat nostalgic smile

Shepard was quiet for a few seconds before smiling

"Thank you Garrus"

"For what?"

"Martin Jefferson was my grandfather"

"Shit really? I'm sorry Shepard I didn't…"

"It's okay Garrus, I never knew him but I like to think that he died like he wanted to"

"If it helps any dad takes an annual trip to his grave, never stopped"

"You know what? It does in a funny way"

* * *

**-Citadel Dock, Normandy-**

There was an unnatural amount of activity surrounding the Normandy when the team returned, most of the crew was buzzing around outside while a few was standing by the door with their omni-tools open.

"What the hell is going on!?" yelled Shepard

The crew split to create a path for Shepard to approach, she was quickly met by one of the senior members of the crew.

"Commander we have a situation, while everyone was away someone snuck aboard and is currently down in the brig. He has taken a soldier hostage and hasn't made any demands other than wishing to see you" the crew member informed them

"Why wasn't I contacted immediately?" asked Shepard with a growl

"We didn't find out until 5 minutes ago ma'am, he had knocked the two guards outside the brig unconscious and there was not enough crew aboard to notice his infiltration" replied the crew member

"Everyone let's move!" ordered Shepard

The ground team quickly stormed inside with weapons drawn, though arguably the two Tenno making up the rear didn't really have their heart in it mostly because they were quite sure who was down there.

The silence of the elevator was alarming but everyone was holding their breath in preparation and anticipation of the fight to come and for a few of them they felt chills run down their spines at the very notion of fighting someone like themselves.

* * *

Down in the brig Eric was making conversation with his daughter and never sparing the knocked out guard a second glance, from the noise above it would seem Shepard had finally arrived.

"So what are you going to do?" questioned Benezia

"Convince Commander Shepard to let me come along to Thessia, simple" replied Eric

"This convincing wouldn't involve violence or extortion now would it?" asked Benezia with an accusing stare

"Of course not angel, I would never use tactics like that against someone I consider an ally" replied Eric with a shrug

"I see… How's the last few years on Thessia been?"

"Quite well actually, very little work has come in but I'm not really surprised by that. Isassu is getting married sometime this year if you can believe it"

"Someone actually find that harpy attractive?"

"Krogan"

"Of course… who else would find someone like Isassu attractive. Anyone else going through major life changes?"

"Not really, a few people having kids here and there but nothing above and beyond. It's going to be nice having you home again"

"I look forward to coming back papa, I trust nothing has been changed?"

"Your room is as you left it last time and the sauna is working just fine"

"Fantastic, you don't know how hard it has been to live without that little piece of human ingenuity"

"Hahahaha, how you got so addicted to that I will never know"

"Blame mama if anyone, she was the one to constantly drag us in there"

"That pool was my worst decision, you mother spend more time there than in the house!"

"Asari love water, you know that papa"

"That you do"

The sound of doors opening diverted their attention back around just in time to see a full team of armored and weapon wielding individuals storm into the room and surround him.

"Arms where I can see them" growled one black haired woman with a pony tail

Eric lifted his hands slightly "Visible enough I take it. I suppose you would be Commander Shepard?" Eric inquired as he turned and stared at the green eyed woman

"That I am, what did you want me for?" inquired Shepard

"Well first off I suppose I can thank you for not killing my daughter, then I would like to ask for your permission to join you as you transport her to Thessia" replied Eric

"You have broken into my ship, assaulted my crew and held one of them hostage… why would I let you do that?" questioned Shepard with an angry tone

"Because it will make everything go so much easier and you won't have to wait for me to arrive on Thessia by myself" Eric replied with a small smile

"I don't think I am going to risk having you aboard, whatever we have to wait a day extra makes no difference to me" stated Shepard

"He is coming along" stated Echo from his now leaning position against the wall

"You don't have the authority to make that call Echo" said Shepard

"I know I don't but you have to admit we need this done as quickly as possible, if it helps he can be confined to the Shadow while we travel" replied Echo

"And what if he decides to break out? You saw how easily he got into the Normandy, why wouldn't he be able to just leave your ship?" inquired Shepard

"The Normandy doesn't have a failsafe that ensures that should anyone leave without my express permission they will suddenly find themselves locked in stasis…organs included" stated Echo in a steely tone

"You have a lethal trap on your ship?" deadpanned Shepard

"You thought I didn't?" countered Echo

"Point. Take him to the Shadow and keep him confined, afterwards I want to see you in my office" said Shepard

"Karick do you mind? Passcode is the same as always, Eva has been looking forward to talking with you again" asked Echo

"No problem. Come along" ordered Karick

Everyone watched as Karick led out Eric and soon enough the only people still awake in the brig was the ground team and Benezia. Echo walked over and checked on the passed out guard and found him to be completely fine and a chuckle escaped Echo.

"Something funny about this?" asked Garrus

"What is it with people like me and hostages?" quipped Echo while chuckling

Garrus did the Turian equivalent of a snort before laughing as he remembered the events on the Citadel back when he had first met Echo, hostages indeed.

"You two do realize not everyone is in on this little joke of yours" supplied Tali

"Where would fun be in that?" Garrus and Echo replied in unison

"Okay enough of the fun. Let's get Private Miles here up to Chakwas" ordered Shepard

Echo picked the private up and carried him out to the elevator with most of the team behind him, Liara and Ashley stayed behind to speak with Benezia about a few things. The private was quickly deposited with Chakwas and everyone split up with Echo following Shepard into her office.

"So what did you want to talk about?" began Echo

"Eric mostly, now we've met him so what do you think?" inquired Shepard

"In truth? He seems… off… like he didn't really care what was going on. It could be a side effect of living to be his tremendous age but we might never know, I will try to ask of course" replied Echo

"If he really is this "Ghost" that we were told about then do you think that security measure in your ship can hold him? And why didn't you tell me about that?"

"Mostly because the lethal part of the trap has been disabled since I landed on the Normandy, had anyone tried to sneak in they would have been put in stasis and then I would have been warned by Eva. No harm done what so ever"

"So you were bluffing?"

"*Nod* I was, he knew it too"

"You think?" Shepard raised a questioning eyebrow

"I don't think, I know he did"

"But how can you be sure?"

"Because he is like me… I might not have been able to see below the mask but I could feel his gaze, he and I are the same"

"You get gloomy way to easily" said Shepard as she jumped on Marc's back

"Well that's why you are here isn't it?" replied Marc with a grin as he walked over to the bed and dropped Sarah down

"Well that and other reasons like saving the universe from a mad spectre" said Sarah as she rolled to the side and onto her stomach

Marc flopped down next to her and stared into the ceiling "Well that's what I am here for, to ensure that it goes well"

"And to ensure I don't kill certain people…" mumbled Sarah as she rolled on top of him

"The council isn't that bad" said Marc as he began running his fingers through her hair

"Tevos is okay I guess, Valern is useless and Sparatus… well Sparatus I can't pick and insult for since there is too many to choose between" mumbled Sarah between purrs as she enjoyed the head massage

"There could be worse people in charge, think if Udina ever got to be a councilor" replied Marc with a chuckle

"He'd be dead within the day" said Sarah with her own chuckle

"The day? I'd give him until the first council meeting" countered Marc

"I know I am going to regret this… but don't you need to speak with Eric about the whole "We are from a different dimension" thing you have going?"

"*Groan* Yeah I do… oh well might as well go see if Karick has thrown him into stasis just for kicks"

"He would do that?" asked Shepard followed quickly by a groan of disappointment as she felt Marc lift her off and place her on the bed

"Karick used to find it funny to shoot me in the foot and then poke at it with an arrow" replied Marc in a tired tone as he stood up

"He is a bit different isn't he?"

"He is utterly insane and I wouldn't want it any other way"

"Let me hear how it goes"

"I'm sure the explosion will reach up here, no worries"

* * *

**Location: The Shadow**

"Did you really have to do this?" asked Eric from his current position of being restrained on the bed

"No, but I find it funny" replied Karick

"You are some unique kind of asshole aren't you?"

"According to Echo I am "something I could only refer to as the supreme asshole of everything" and I am quite fond of that title"

"Figures, so any particular reason I was dragged down here?"

"Me and Echo would like to talk to you"

"I suppose I am not getting let up from this position in the meantime?"

"Nope"

"Figures…"

A low hiss spread through the Shadow as the door opened and Echo walked in with a rather passive expression on his face. He quickly noted Eric on the bed and Karick sitting in his chair twirling an arrow between his fingers

"Just couldn't help yourself could you?" muttered Echo

"I didn't put him in stasis" replied Karick

"No you just strapped him into the harness that is supposed to keep one of us down" countered Echo

"*Cough* _He_ would like to be let out of this" interrupted Eric

"Before we do that I think it might be better to introduce ourselves" said Echo

"I would be Karick also nicknamed "The Stalker" by certain individuals, I don't think my age concerns you that much" said Karick

"And I would be Echo but my real name is Marc *********" continued Marc

"*Sigh* Aikar T'Soni how are you doing" replied Eric

"We know your name Ghost, your _real_ name which is the reason you are here" said Marc

"What does this have to do with me being named Eric?" asked Eric

"Because I was told to find your sorry ass by a common friend" replied Karick

"I only got a vague message telling me to find you, never met one of these people" replied Marc

"Wait… you two are what they sent to help me?!" yelled Eric

"Karick is the only one who was actually sent here, I just kind of tagged along I guess" replied Marc

"To hell with tagging along, you are a free walker!" yelled Eric while trying to break the restraints

"You might want to calm down and then start from the beginning, Karick knows a bit but I know absolutely nothing" supplied Marc

Eric looked to calm down slightly as he breathed a few deep breaths before nodding his head which prompted Marc to order Eva to release the restraints, once he was free Eric sat up and stared at the two

"How about we start with how much you actually know" requested Eric

"I've been here for ten years and short of gathering information about this dimension I haven't really been told anything… the one who moved me did mention something about me being unique as I had apparently already "awoken" or something to that effect" replied Karick

"So nothing is what you are saying. In regards to the whole "awakening" business it is a referral to our inheritance" said Eric

"This wouldn't happen to be connected to me being called "Light-Bringer" and "Ascended" from the Prothean VI and Leviathan's separately?" interrupted Marc

"*Nod* that it would. I have been at this for the past 1800 years and have had regular visits from the Dimensional Lord that moved me" at the question glances of the two men at the words "Dimensional Lord" Eric gave a small chuckle

"*Chuckle* Dimensional Lord is a term I have been using to refer to them, it helps keep me sane to actually be able to give them a name. Regardless I have been in regular contact with one of them and I have acquired some information here and there. From what I have understood we three are something they themselves refer to as their "Champions" it would seem we are each somehow descended from one of them" said Eric

"Makes sense since that is what I have been told repeatedly now, but why is that important?" inquired Marc

"That much I don't know, all I know is that they only move their own descendants and not for too terribly long periods at a time, myself being an exception. In my case I was moved and give my mission and them more or less left to my own devices. But before I get too far ahead of myself here let me answer your question Karick, by "awakening" as you were told it simply means that you have awoken some special ability that you have inherited from your Dimensional Lord ancestor" continued Eric

"And what would this ability be? I haven't noticed anything new about myself" said Karick

"It doesn't have to be something spectacular, I have heard of something as little as being able to see in the dark to something as large as controlling the passage of time itself" replied Eric

"It's true Karick, I can sense other peoples presence around me and they appear in my mind as pillars of light" said Marc

"Handy" mumbled Eric

"Sometimes, what about you?" replied Marc

"Mine is a bit weird, for all intents and purposes my body is impossible to destroy except for one particular thing" began Eric

"So what, you are superman?" joked Marc

"In a way only my kryptonite is blunt force" replied Eric

"That seems… odd" said Marc

"It's a bit difficult to explain but in essence I cannot be killed by anything but excessive blunt force. My skin will bruise from bullets and knives but hit me with a hammer and you might very well pulverize bones, the only odd thing is that the amount of blunt force needed seems oddly unspecific" replied Eric

"Must have been come in handy in the past 1800 years huh?" quipped Marc

"It's been okay for the past 1000 years but it wasn't very fun in the start" replied Eric

"Why not?" inquired Karick

"*Sigh* Humans are unique due to our extreme ability to adapt, try to think for a second what would happen when _every part_ of my body is incapable of being destroyed" replied Eric

"… your cells wouldn't be able to split and reform properly…" mumbled Karick

"Exactly. The first 200 years of my existence here was spent in pain as my body forced itself to evolve and change, as I am sitting in front of you now that is the exact same body I have had for the past 1600 years. Not one hair is different not one skin cell is changed and not one single cell discarded" stated Eric

"Fuck… how do you stay alive?" asked Marc

"My cells have natural regeneration now. I can't regrow limps or equal should I lose them but if I break a bone or something then my cells will maneuver the bone fragments back into place and then the bone itself regenerates together" replied Eric

"I must say that is truly incredible. But what about your life span?" inquired Karick

"For that singular purpose I am immortal. Which is why I am getting quite keen on finishing my mission so that I can finally be rid of this cursed ability" replied Eric

"How would be rid of it? What is your mission for that matter?" asked Marc

"The mission I was given –the mission Karick was sent to help with- is to locate the Dimensional Lord that watches over this particular dimension, she has been missing for almost 4000 years and they don't know where she is but they suspect she is here somewhere" replied Eric

"Okay… why don't they just find her themselves?" tried Marc

"Apparently because they can't, though I haven't been given specifics" said Eric

"Okay so your mission seem straightforward but what does this have to do with being rid of your ability?" inquired Marc

"The thing is that in some cases –like Karick- we develop our abilities naturally and as such I suppose have access to them all our lives, but with most of us we are _granted_ the ability by whichever dimensional lord is moving us. From what I have been told only the current watcher of the dimension is capable of removing the ability again and then send you home" replied Eric

"So you want to find her so she can remove your ability and let you die?" guessed Marc

"Exactly, with this body I would most likely live another 100 years or so once my ability is gone but that is more than fine with me since I am sick and tired of this life and would love to move on" replied Eric

"Not every day you meet someone actively trying to die" said Karick with a smile

"Oh and the gathering of three dimensional travelers is a common occurrence?" said Marc with a small grin

"Getting back on track here and focusing in a bit more on you Marc. You are what is called a "Free Walker" or at least that is what we are calling you. Rarely one of us develops the ability to walk between dimensions on their own and as such is free to go wherever they want unchecked by the dimensional lords. Most of you don't have any control over it what so ever and just go from one dimension to another when feeling great depression or sadness or some other powerful emotion. Your ability is also slightly unique because like Karick yours isn't given to you it is something you developed naturally" explained Eric

"That would fit the pattern, my first shift was right after I broke up with my girlfriend and I had no other wish than to disappear from earth for a time. The second time I decided to travel the universe after the death of my wife and was of the same state of mind so I shifted here… though what do you mean "we call you free walkers"?" said Marc

"I mean "We" as in multiple people. I didn't come up with Free Walker as a term, someone else did and I was merely told it by the dimensional lord I have visiting on occasion. There is an untold number of us out there so fair to say that certain terms get spread around" replied Eric

"Ever met anyone else aside from us?" asked Karick

"About 35 or so, let's just say you aren't the first one they sent to help me" replied Eric with a bit of a scowl

"That many of us died here?" mumbled Karick with a slightly angry expression now filling his features

"Sadly the number is even higher. I have met only 35 myself but according to my contact I am nr. 672 to be sent here to try and find the missing one" said Eric with a downcast expression

"And they all died? None of them were returned?" asked Marc

"I don't know. I was never told" replied Eric

"It seems to be a common thing doesn't it? You not being told" stated Karick

"*Nod* My contact has only told me these things because he feels bad for having kept me here for almost 2000 years. But that doesn't mean that he divulges large secrets, he just tells me things in passing that he thinks I might find useful" replied Eric

"So in the grand scheme of things, nothing" stated Marc

"More or less. Everything else aside, have you two come up with anything in regards to Karick's and I's mission?" asked Eric

"I have gathered information but nothing has come up in greater importance, at least nothing which could suggest a connection" stated Karick

"I think I'll just make your day then. I know where she is" stated Marc

Karick and Eric felt their proverbial jaws hit the floor as their brains ventilated for a few moments while juggling that little tidbit of information

"H-How?" asked Eric as he recovered first

"On Feros I found a prothean beacon, it contained a VI named Honor whom had a message left behind for one of us I now suspect. It showed me a vision of a race of the past and a woman told me to come find her where the darkness hadn't reached. Later I went to Desponia and spoke with the Leviathans, they watched the vision in my mind and told me of an item that your missing dimensional lord apparently left behind on the citadel in its early days. This item is supposed to bring me to her I guess, or rather it is meant to bring me to the home planet of the dimensional lords in this dimension" replied Marc

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Karick had thrown his head back and was roaring with laughter as his body slowly sunk to the ground and tears stung at his eyes as his lungs fought for air, this was apparently quite amusing

"T-t-ten years I spent in this hell hole and find _nothing!_ Along comes you and you spend what here? A Year? Maybe less? And you have found the means to our success! How it is very like you…" mused Karick as he laughed

"How do you think I feel? I've spent almost 1800 years looking for her" supplied Eric with a small smile

"Well what can I say, stick close to Shepard and you are bound to become part of a bigger thing" said Marc

"Aint that the truth" said Eric

Karick took a large breath before standing while a few more chuckles escaped him

"I think I have had enough information for now… I think I am going to drop off the Normandy for now, no need to stay here since we've already met Eric here. If you need me for anything just call and of course I will be spending my time from now on to find this thing that was left behind" stated Karick as he began moving towards the door

"I'll be seeing you Karick" said Marc with a wave

"It was… something… to meet you" stated Eric with a grin

Karick waved his hand over his head as he went out the door and it closed behind him leaving the two other men alone.

"So there was one thing I didn't mention while he was here" stated Eric

"Something important I take it?" stated Marc

"Not in regards to the mission no. You see you and I are from the same origin dimension"

"Really? As in the dimension I was in before I went to Karick's dimension?"

"Yep"

"So you know the Mass Effect games?"

"Of all the things I have forced myself to remember over the past 1800 years that one is the second most important"

"What year did you get taken from?"

"Sometime early 2013 if I remember correctly"

"So you managed to see the release of the third game?"

"Managed to complete most of it, but never finished"

"Well how about I just spare you the details of what we are going to prevent"

"*Nod* I think that is a good idea"

"While on the subject of the games… Benezia's father, really?"

"I don't want to hear that from the man dating _Shepard_ I mean of all stereotypes you could have managed to follow you chose the biggest one"

"Well excuse me! Tali just isn't in my taste and your grand-daughter is taken"

"Well why not Ashley then?"

"Because that is who took your grand-daughter"

"What!?"

"I take it you didn't know?"

"When the hell and _how_ the hell did that happen?"

"I can't tell you exactly when it happened but how? That might have been mine and Wrex's doing when we convinced Ashley that being a xenophobic asshole was a very unwise move aboard a ship where the best killers among them is aliens"

"Just how many things have you messed with?"

"A lot… and I don't plan to stop if it means saving people"

"Neither am I asking you to. Saving people is a good thing but listen to 1800 years of experience here, you can't save everyone and you will only hurt yourself in trying"

"Trust me I know I can't save everyone. But Virmire is next on the list and I'll be damned if I let anyone die on that blasted planet, I might not like Kaidan but I don't want anyone to die there"

"On that much we agree but just remember that every change we make sends ripples throughout the world, you have saved my little angel and for that I am eternally grateful but who knows what sort of impact she will have on later events?"

"I know, I know… *sigh* let us hope that whatever changes come about is something we can deal with"

"Agreed. For now let us focus on what we can control and move from there"

"Well you never finished the third game… I guess that means you missed out on a lot of information as well so allow me to fill in the gaps"

"Sounds good, how about we start with the most obvious… what the hell is a Leviathan?"

Marc released a chuckle as he began explaining and watched as Eric's few contorted into one of mild distaste… this was going to be a long set of hours.

* * *

Down in the brig a different conversation was going on between three women, two of which were more than happy to have Eric back in their lives and the last one was immensely concerned about him, wondering if he was a threat or not.

"I can assure you, Commander that my father is of no danger to your crew unless they decide to make him their enemy" stated Benezia

"So just keep him away from Lieutenant Kaidan?" said Liara with a small chuckle

"You know about that huh?" said Shepard

"His injures were a good indication, Echo walking around looking terminally angry was another hint" replied Liara

"Well that is all hopefully done with now" stated Shepard

"I hope so for Kaidan's sake or he might find himself short a few limbs" said Liara with a slightly disgusted face

"On a less sour note how do you think your grand-father is going to take your relationship with Ashley?" asked Shepard

"Father always was very _insistent_ that I didn't marry a human, he was even more insistent when Liara was born that she didn't either. He dislikes the shortness of the human lifespan and thinks it unfair that Liara would have to carry the pain of losing her love for her entire life" answered Benezia

"So he will most likely not take too kindly to Ashley dating Liara…" stated Shepard

"I will talk with him and I am sure I can make him see reason. Besides I know exactly what to promise him to make him accept it" said Liara with a small smile

"And what would that be?" asked Shepard

"I just have to mention great-grandchildren and he will be sold" replied Liara

"Ah yes… papa was quite excited when I informed him I was pregnant, when mama mentioned he might live to become a great-grandfather he nearly passed out from excitement… he values family very much" said Benezia with a sad smile

"Children huh… not exactly something I would be planning right now" said Shepard with a grin

"Though you might not be planning to have children one could certainly be excused for thinking so, it is not like you two aren't practicing enough for the event…" mumbled Liara with a blush and smile

"Is it that obvious?" asked Shepard while rubbing her neck

"The walls are thick, not soundproof" replied Liara

"Well what can I say" said Shepard with a large grin

A small chuckle passed through the brig as the three women continued their talks, happily ignorant of the two dimensional travelers talking about events that would soon see all three of them fear for such a sweet future as one with children would be.

* * *

**A/N: Well… that took a while didn't it? Writer's block is a bitch that much I will say but the chapter is here now and I hope you all enjoyed it. I don't really know when the next one will be out but I hope to make it quite soon. I wish everyone a good day and hope to see you next time when we start on Virmire and moving ever closer to the endgame of this story.**

**Also just to be clear here; it was only an easter egg and a reference to HP i am not doing a crossover or anything else of the sort... i am not willingly subjegating myself to the horror that is the Harry Potter fandom.**

**-BundleJumper**


	16. Chapter 16

**Planet: Thessia  
Location: Aboard the Normandy**

At present moment the entirety of the ground team was standing at the airlock to the Normandy and was giving their goodbyes to Benezia.

"Please try to write every so often, little wing" said Benezia with a small smile

"Of course mother, you just try to keep gramps out of trouble" replied Liara with the same smile

"Oi!" yelled Eric from his position in the back next to Marc

Everyone gave a chuckle as the rest began giving their goodbye, at least those that had spoken to Benezia during their trip to Thessia.

"Can you believe it… me? Trouble?" mumbled Eric

"To be completely fair…" began Marc

"I know…" mumbled Eric "Virmire is just about here isn't it?"

"*Nod* I'm expecting the call from the council at any given time now" said Marc

"What are you going to do?" began Eric as he turned and stared towards to specific people "When a certain choice comes rolling around and it is up to Shepard to choose?"

"*Shrug* I'll save whoever she decides to leave behind" replied Marc

"Even if it's Kaidan?"

"Even him… we might hate each other now but we still need to get through this with our lives intact"

"You're a better man then I am then" mused Eric "From what you have told me I would have killed his ass long ago"

"Well let's just say that at that point, I was a bit more concerned with other matters" replied Marc with a smile

"*Snort* Yeah like not messing up the timeline so much that we couldn't fix it… not quite sure we haven't already passed that point"

"Me neither… anyway it seems everyone is just about done saying their goodbyes, take care Eric"

The two shook hands before Eric gave a court nod and then joined his daughter as they departed the Normandy and headed towards Eric's private shuttle already docked at the station.

Slowly everyone filed out and away from the airlock and resumed their daily routines, though two particular members were agitated for different reasons. Shepard was getting antsy because there had been no new word on Saren or anything since Noveria and it was beginning to worry her. Marc was gradually getting annoyed at not receiving the call for Virmire yet and it was not really worrying as much as it was starting to make him think he fucked something up along the way.

"Up for some sparring?"

Shepard's voice pierced Marc's thoughts and a small headshake later saw him back in the real world.

"Yeah, I could use the workout"

The two didn't waste much time in getting down to the hangar, Marc picked up the blades while Shepard put on her training clothes and waited in their little "arena" behind Marc's ship.

It had become more instinct than anything for her to grab the sword out of the air as it was thrown towards her and today was no different as the sword sailed through the air and soon enough was firmly in her grip.

"Anything special you want to focus on today?" inquired Marc

"Light sparring with conversation to match?" offered Sarah

"Deal"

And the two were off like bullets out of a gun, swinging at one another while dodging and jumping to avoid what, to outsiders, would seem like lethal strikes. Thankfully the first thing Marc had thought her was just how to actually stop the blade mid motion, thus ensuring that there wouldn't be any accidental limp removal.

"So how did your talk with Eric go?" asked Sarah as she ducked under a swing

"A few questions answered, a few new posed but in the end Eric, Karick and I all came out with more knowledge than before which is only good" replied Marc as he attempted a feint

Sarah saw it coming and parried "So the whole dimensional traveler thing is getting resolved slowly?"

It was Marc's turn to dodge as he saw the blade at the edge of his vision "More or less, I mean now I at the least know why there are here and can begin helping them if I see the chance"

Giving a slight pout over her strike missing Sarah quickly recovered and ducked and rolled away from a combined leg sweep and strike

"Is it going to interfere with our mission in any way?" Sarah asked while trying to hit Marc at the back of his knees

"It shouldn't" replied Marc as she jumped over the strike and landed behind Sarah and placing his blade at her throat

"Leg strikes are a good idea, but not when your opponent is superior to you in the jumping department" stated Marc as he removed the blade and helped Sarah back to a standing position

"I know, I know… just thought I might catch you off guard" muttered Sarah as she took a ready stance and waited for Marc to come at her again

"So what about your own conversation with Liara and Benezia?" inquired Marc as he began their second round with an overhead slash

"We talked about this and that…" Sarah spun to avoid the strike and used the momentum to try and strike Marc in the stomach

"Three women in the same room and that is all? Liar" taunted Marc as he rolled backwards to avoid the strike and put some distance between them

"Well… it would seem you and I aren't as quiet as we could be" stated Sarah as she lunged forward and tried to get Marc by surprise

Seeing it coming Marc deflected the blade and tapped Sarah at the back of her head "We are hardly ever quiet but I think I know what you mean, the walls are thick not soundproof"

With a small chuckle Sarah spun around and tried an overhead strike of her own "Word for word what Liara said, but I guess it's true"

"Any other interesting topics of discussion?" tried Marc as he dodged the overhead strike and moved behind Sarah and slapped her butt with the flat end of his sword

"Auch! Hey!" yelled Sarah as she swung her blade behind her blindly hoping to get him "We entered a slightly sore topic if you must know"

Marc ducked with a mock *Gulp* to avoid the blind swing "Sore topic? What could possibly be considered a sore topic for you?"

Using the momentum of her swing Sarah turned around until she was facing Marc and changed the direction of the blade from a spinning strike to an overhead slash "Children if you must know"

Sarah barely caught it in Marc's eyes and stopped her blade just a few centimeters short of taking off his arm "Why the hell didn't you dodge?"

Marc stood slowly and pushed the blade away from his shoulder before grapping onto Sarah's shoulders and looking her deeply in the eyes

"Sarah… you aren't pregnant are you?" asked Marc with clear worry

"What?! No of course not!" yelled Sarah in response

"Thank god" mumbled Marc as he dropped to his knees "Don't scare me like that…"

Placing her sword on a nearby crate Sarah returned and sat down across from Marc on the floor

"Would it be such a bad thing if I was?" she tried with a dejected look

"*Chuckle* No just the contrary in fact… I would probably jump around in joy" replied Marc with a large smile

"Then why…?"

"In truth it would be an unnecessary distraction for both of us, if we were to worry about our child each time we went out on a mission knowing that there is a chance we weren't going to be coming back"

"But isn't that always going to be the case? I mean I am not planning on stepping down until my sixties, and I am not waiting that long to have children"

"And I am not asking you too… I am asking you to wait until this Reaper business is over with, and thus ensure I won't have to worry each god damn day if this is the day I see you killed by one of them"

"So you do want children with me?" teased Sarah with a devious grin

"I told you Sarah, you are the last woman I will ever love. And don't even try to make me believe you can find someone like me again" replied Marc with a cocky grin

"Dimensional travelling human with a super suit… no, no, I'm quite sure I could find one more somewhere" replied Sarah

"And on that day I will be flying across the universe in a sled, wearing a bright red suit and a long white beard" stated Marc

"Hmm… a beard would definently suit you" she said while carefully looking over Marc with a mock critical eye

"Been there done that, never again" replied Marc

"Shame. So after all this is said and done with you would want a family?" Sarah led the conversation back on track

"Definently. But I suppose it all comes down to if you want one"

"Once this entire reaper business is over… yeah I could see myself settling down and having a few kids"

"How about we start with just one…"

"How about we get back to training?"

"Good idea"

The two resumed their training but Marc's thoughts were definently not in it that much anymore, excellently displayed by him suddenly avoiding every strike Sarah made and not even bothering to answer with his own strikes besides the occasional educational tap to the behind or head.

'_Children huh… it's worth thinking about I guess… whoops dodge below… perhaps I should prepare for the potential that she could get pregnant before all of this is over… backflip… damn if that happens what the hell am I going to do? I mean… shit duck!... I refuse to lose another child… I guess that means that, come the Collectors and she is pregnant… slide to avoid shoulder strike… in that case fuck the timeline'_

That train of thought continued for the rest of the work out, until he finally called a stop to it and the two began packing their gear and then headed up to Sarah's quarters for a shower… lord knows they needed one by now.

**LINE**

"So in a real fight I shouldn't be trying to do all those crazy evasions I see you doing?" asked Sarah

"No definently not, Karick and I might do it all the time but we are also trained. Pass the Shampoo" said Marc as she reached his hand out

"So what, you two started doing that because you were bored?" Sarah asked with a confused expression as she handed over the bottle of shampoo

"Mostly I guess. Don't be mistaken, the really flashy evasion techniques can certainly be used for a surprise but beyond that? Not much use, better to sidestep" replied Marc as he took the bottle with a nod of thanks

Sarah leaned against the cold wall and scratched her head slightly "So what, on all the missions up until now whenever I have seen you do these massive jumps to get out of the way it was just for show?"

"*Shrug* More or less, grow to be my age and do nothing but fighting and eventually you have to find ways to entertain yourself that doesn't involve killing to stay sane… trying to imitate cartoon heroes seemed the way" said Marc as he finished scrubbing the shampoo into his hair

"You are bat shit crazy, you know that?" teased Sarah as she took the shampoo bottle and began applying it to her own hair

"*Snort* I came out better than most Tenno did, we have a group of them that have literally fought to the point where they can't live outside their Warframes anymore" mused Marc as he began washing off

"How does that happen?" questioned Sarah as she finished with the shampoo and placed the bottle back on the rack

"Lose a few limbs, go slightly insane, became addicted to death… that sort of thing" replied Marc as he opened the shower door and stepped out to begin drying off

"Good thing you didn't end up there hah?" teased Sarah

"I probably just needed a few more years and I would have ended there anyway" mumbled Marc in response

"By the way do you think we will get a new lead soon? It has been a little too long…" said Sarah

As if by magic three chimes rang through the bathroom to signal that someone was at the door to Shepard's quarters, three chimes also meant it was important.

"Happy now?" said Marc with a smile as he quickly threw on some clothes and went to open the door

When Marc did open the door he came face to face with a private who gave him a quick salute before relaying that there was an emergency transmission from the council and Commander Shepard was to report to the briefing room.

Marc nodded his thanks, and the private went on his way. Marc then quickly returned to the bathroom and informed Sarah of the news, leading to said woman speeding up her shower time and getting dressed.

"Let's hope they have something concrete for us to go on" said Sarah as the two were heading towards the briefing room

"Emergency transmissions are rarely just for polite conversation" replied Marc

"If we are lucky they might have gotten something on Saren, I would love to put a bullet through his head" grumbled Sarah

"Let's see what happens" mumbled Marc as they entered the briefing room to three awaiting council members

"Commander, Echo, nice of you two to join us" grumbled Sparatus

"Some luck might finally have come our way Commander, we received an urgent message from one of our infiltration teams in the traverse" said Valern

"Infiltration teams in the traverse? Isn't that dangerously close to the Terminus to be placing potential reasons for war?" questioned Echo

"We are aware of the danger but Saren poses and even bigger threat" replied Tevos

"And in this case it paid off. One of the team assigned to gather Intel on Saren sent us a message from Virmire. Sadly the message was nothing more but static, we fear that they might be in a situation that prevents them from setting up proper interstellar communication" supplied Valern

"How do we know this Intel is good, if all you got was static?" interrupted Shepard

"The message was sent on a high-alert mission-critical only frequency, so whatever they were trying to tell us, it was important" replied Valern

"We have a policy not to interfere with Spectres and their way of functioning, we simply want you to have all options presented too you. We wish you the best of luck Commander" said Tevos before the link was cut

Shepard sent a glance towards Echo "Seems we have our lead, let's hope it gets us somewhere"

"How far are we from Virmire?" asked Echo

"At the shortest we are only a day away, at worst it could be a week before we arrive" said Shepard as the two began heading towards the Galaxy map

"So there is time to prepare, good. I'll head down to the Shadow and begin my preparations" said Echo as he turned a corner and headed downwards toward the elevator

"I'll see you in a moment" said Shepard as she headed straight towards the map

Once she arrived she quickly began scanning through the systems and found Virmire, then went over the available data on the planet.

"Joker set a course for Virmire, top speed" ordered Shepard

"_Aye, Aye Commander_" affirmed Joker

"Finally some action Commander?" asked Ashley as she passed by

"Let's hope so Ash" replied Shepard as she caught up with the Gunnery chief

"Any idea what we are going to find on Virmire?" asked Ashley

"It could be anything so better be ready for just that in any case. How is Liara doing?" asked Shepard in return

"She seems to be doing just fine everything taken into consideration, she is much stronger than anyone gives her credit for" replied Ashley

"I never doubted her resolution, if I did I wouldn't have brought her with me down on Noveria" commented Shepard

"I guess not but it was a bit easy to tell with some of the others aboard the ship that they doubted her abilities… not that many saying anything after the Noveria mission video…" mumbled Ashley

"Good. Any word on the Commandos' condition?"

"Negative Ma'am, the Asari government is keeping them in tight lock-up until Echo agrees to cure them like he did with Benezia…"

"Got something to add to that Williams?"

"Why didn't he just cure them when they were aboard Ma'am?"

"Believe it or not he didn't trust them enough. He was unsure if they were actually indoctrinated, or whatever they actually believed Saren's bullshit and didn't need the brainwashing. So rather keep them locked up and controlled until we have dealt with Saren"

"I guess that makes sense, I just wish Echo was a little more willing to share his reasons with others but you"

"He has heavy trust issues, but I wouldn't think anything of it Ash. He has on plenty of occasions spoken his opinion of you, and it has only risen in the past few weeks. But there are just some things that he still feels are only for the ears of the one in command, me in this case"

"Of course Ma'am"

The two had arrived down in the armory so they split up, Ash had to go check her weaponry and Shepard had to find Echo.

Of course finding him wasn't really much of a problem when the door to the ship was wide open, meaning that he was inside doing something slightly less important since he apparently didn't mind anyone coming in to disturb him.

Shepard found him sitting at his desk overlooking some files on his omni-tool, she couldn't read what they contained from here but she suspected it had something to do with the mission.

"Anything important Sarah?" he questioned

"We are on our way to Virmire, I suspect we will be there within two days. I came down here to see if you had any extra information about Virmire that could potentially help us" she replied

"Aside from it being a lush forest world, that would make for a decent colony if it wasn't for the surround pirates and raiders? No I have nothing of importance, if the Salarian agents actually found something I can only assume Saren has a facility on the planet of some kind" stated Marc

"Facility? You mean like a factory?" mused Sarah

"Factory, Science Facility, Training Ground or something entirely different, could be anything in truth" muttered Marc

"So basically prepare for anything?"

"That would be my best suggestion"

"Got anything fancy planned with that armor of yours?"

Echo looked up from his omni-tool for barely a moment and even then it was simply to throw Shepard "Really?" glance and then look back down

"I am planning on keeping it in its natural form until we potentially come across something that requires me to be more specific. Until then it will serve excellently as a regular piece of armor with a heavy shield"

"I thought you had a version of it for every occasion?"

"I do, but I don't know what "occasion" there is down on Virmire"

"A few good beaches from what I have seen…"

"… beaches… really Sarah?"

The two shared a laugh as the conversation continued; mostly inconsequential blabber about anything, but every so often it would actually pertain to something important. They both knew that the stakes had never been higher than they were going to be planet-side, so of course there had to be joking now… wasn't time for it when you are getting shot at.

* * *

Tali was actually quite happy today, sure they were heading towards a new planet and mission which could potentially mean the death of one of her friends… but today was still a good day. She had gotten news from the flotilla via a few good friends and learned that things were looking up back home.

Though that wasn't the reason today was such a good day either. No today was a good day because she had been pestering Echo to show her some of that "Rubedo" that he constantly mumbled about when he was down in engineering… and he had finally given in! He was coming down here later today to show her what little of it he had left, of course under the promise that she wouldn't do anything to id aside from look.

Of course that wasn't going to stop her from pestering to let her test it through, so she could learn everything she could about it that Echo wasn't going to tell her.

"What has you running around in circles?" came the voice of Greg Adams

Finally stopping her own musings enough to realize that she had actually been walking around in a circle for the past thirty minutes Tali gave a small laugh

"Sorry… I'm just excited for something"

"Well how about you get out of my engine before you hit something in that excitement"

Greg Adams was the head engineer aboard the Normandy, and Tali had butted heads with him a few times in the beginning when she had looked over the specs for the ship. They had slowly moved to something that was akin to a mutual understanding, Tali didn't interrupt him without due cause and he allowed her to look around without complaining unless she tried to access a restricted area.

"Of course, sorry Greg"

"Hrmpf… just don't let it happen again"

With a nod Tali moved out of the engine room and into the hall way where she leaned against the wall, and waited for Echo to appear out of the elevator with the sample.

Thankfully she had managed to keep her excitement down for most of the day, so she didn't have to wait so terribly long for the doors to open and reveal Echo's form with a container held in his hands.

"Tali… how long have you waited here?" he asked with an amused glint in his eyes

"30 minutes?" she replied in a slight mumble

"Hahaha… you are too easily excited, come on and let's see if we can quench that curiosity of yours… for the day at least" he joked as he began leading them towards one of the side rooms of engineering, a repair room to be more specific.

He placed the surprisingly small container on one of the tables, and released the myriad of locks he had placed on it himself. The case gave a low hiss as it opened, allowing a small red light to escape as it opened to reveal the small lump of red glowing material.

Reaching into the case, Echo pulled out the clump and held it in front of Tali

"This is Rubedo, one of the key components in the building of Warframes, the armor I wear, as well as a few other particular forms of crafting. It is also used in the engine of some of our ships; my Shadow is a good example as it has a Rubedo focused Engine that used to run on the stuff, before I switched to solar power"

Tali hung on every word as she took in the look and shape of the small square block of Rubedo, she tried so horribly to glean anything from simply looking but she had never seen a material quite like this before.

"What about density, pressure limits, melting temperature, conducting ability…"

Tali ranted off a million and one questions, leaving Echo with a large grin on his face… how long had it been since he had fully enjoyed a conversation about engineering. Well a few days if one counted the last time he went down here and spoke to Tali but that doesn't count, those times weren't about _this_ about something he knew, about something that was from _home_.

"So how could this have helped make our engines better?"

Tali eventually asked an actual question which left Echo smiling, of course he couldn't tell her exactly how the Rubedo would help make the Normandy better, mostly because he wasn't exactly a ship engineer like some of the other Tenno had been back home.

"Truthfully I can't tell you the exact reason it would improve the engines, I just know it would… Put it under the microscope over there and look what happens when you pass a current through it"

Behind her visor Tali had a slightly confused expression on her face, but she went with it and walked over and placed the sample of Rubedo under the scope and looked at it. What she saw almost made her fall out of her chair.

"It's alive…"

"No not completely… but it's close, very, very close"

Under the microscope the biggest secret behind Rubedo was visible, endless numbers of small organisms that lived within the Rubedo and were somehow connected to the material. The Tenno had tried, without success mind you, to find out just what the small organisms added to the Rubedo, but gave up after so many failed trials and soon enough the man-hours just couldn't be justified.

"Now look when I sent a current through it…"

Tali looked back down and her eyes widened once more as she saw the small current pass into some of the organisms… but that was where the incredible began, the first organism let the charge jump to the next but still retained a charge… it then passed it to another, and again and again.

"Impossible…"

"It replicates the original charge"

"An engine built around this would be able to run off the smallest of charges for… I can't even begin to phantom the calculations. You say your engine ran on this in the past? Why did you stop?"

Picking up the piece of Rubedo Echo threw it in the air and caught it a few times before staring at it intently.

"It can retain a current for an incredible amount of time, but after a while the current burns out the organisms inside the Rubedo and it breaks apart. I switched to Solar Power when I left the Tenno to ensure that I didn't need to restock on Rubedo when I ran out. Turned out to be the right choice, since I can't get anymore"

"Oh… is it really impossible for you to acquire anymore?"

"Well… in truth I don't know, there might be a system in the galaxy with a Rubedo deposit but I haven't exactly been looking for it… perhaps… hmm… would you like to take a sample and adjust our scanners to see if it can find a Rubedo deposit?"

Echo knew it was a fruitless search, the odds of a Rubedo deposit being somewhere in this dimension was close to zero but perhaps, just perhaps they might get lucky.

"That would be fantastic! I'll get right on it"

Echo chuckled slightly at Tali's eagerness "Take the sample and do what you need, you can return it to my ship when you are done"

"Of course Echo, see you around and thank you so much"

"No problem Tali"

With that Echo left the room and went searching for the next person he wanted to see, thought he really didn't wish to see this person he had to get a few things straight with Kaidan about Virmire… he wasn't risking potential deaths because Kaidan still had a stick up his ass because of certain subjects.

Locating the Lieutenant proved a bit more difficult than first anticipated because apparently he missed him three times as he tried the Armory, canteen and sleeping quarters in that order… he was heading over to the med-bay since that was apparently where the lieutenant was heading next.

Looking through the open door Echo gave a sigh of relief as he saw Kaidan standing and talking to Chakwas while gesturing to his now healed arm. Echo suspected that they were talking about his further use of it and if it was safe to go down on Virmire and enter combat.

"… I see no larger problem Kaidan if you just ensure not to take too many blows to the shoulder"

"Thanks doc, just what I wanted to hear"

"Kaidan I need to speak with you" Echo interrupted as he stepped inside the med-bay

"Yeah? I have nothing to talk to you about" replied Kaidan with a scowl

"I don't give a shit, whatever you actually speak with me or just listen. Once we hit landside on Virmire there is a chance the entire ground team is going into action, and I am not risking anyone's ass because of our disagreements" growled Echo

"And you somehow think that I will let someone die because I hate you?" rebuffed Kaidan

Echo took two steps forward until he was right in front of Kaidan, and grabbed him by his shirt and pulled his face right in front of his own.

"No you little shit; I am concerned _I _am going to kill you. So I propose a deal, I will cover the left flank and you cover the right… I might not like you Kaidan but you are a capable solider, so I know I can trust you to hold our flank"

A hint of surprise appeared on Kaidan's face at the proclamation, as he was quite sure that Echo hated his guts and thought he was completely useless… perhaps not.

"I think we can do that… anything else?" asked Kaidan

Echo released his hold on Kaidan and sighed in relief, and took a step to the side to lean against Chakwas desk

"No that should be it. You might wish to go prepare… we don't know what we are facing planet side" replied Echo

Kaidan nodded and left the med-bay, leaving Echo and Chakwas alone.

"I take it you wish to speak with me, Marc, since you are staying?"

A small chuckle escaped the half-breed, as he sat down across from Chakwas and nodded his acceptance to a glass of the offered brandy.

"So what are we talking about today?" Chakwas began the conversation

"Well… maybe I should leave that up to you?" tested Marc with a careful tone

"*Chuckle* How about something I can see have done you a world of good?" said Chakwas in a teasing tone

"You mean Sarah don't you?" replied Marc in a cheeky tone

"That I do. You have been so much happier and just seem more… alive, then before you two got together. It has helped our dear Commander just as much if you ask me" continued Chakwas with a smile

"I really don't know what to tell you Karin, I never thought I would fall in love again but Sarah… she grows on you whatever you want it or not, I guess I just got a bigger dose than most" said Marc with a grin

"*Snort* Yes I will admit that Sarah has a certain… appeal. Hit any problems yet?"

"*Cough* *Cough* Yes well… hmm… there have been a few arguments over some delicate matters that I am not really in a position to talk about"

"I take it this is not her obsession with panda underwear?"

Marc leaned forward with an interested stare "You know about the Panda panties?"

Chakwas finished her glass, and poured another before grinning like a shark

"Oh I know a whole lot more…"

"Karin, I think you just became my new favorite person… let's talk"

* * *

**Entering Virmire Atmosphere**

"Everyone ready?"

Shepard's question rang out through the Mako but no one answered, their silence was more than enough as everyone was keeping their focus.

They were almost at the drop point, they had determined that there was indeed some sort of facility down on Virmire, there was just one problem… they had Anti-Air artillery that needed to be dealt with before the Normandy could even think of making land-fall.

Shepard gave a small sigh as she jumped into the driver's seat and waited in silence. Echo was sitting in the navigator's seat with a passive mien under his helmet. He had been oddly quiet, ever since he had finished his rather long talk with Chakwas.

"_Approaching drop-point, Commander. ETA 1 minute_" came Joker's voice over the com

"Roger that Joker" replied Shepard

The atmosphere inside the filled Mako was thick enough to slice in, most the team was too aware that some of them might not be coming back from this trip. It was even more present on the faces of Ashley and Liara, due to their recent circumstances.

"_Drop!_" the voice of Joker sounded just as the floor opened, and the Mako lurched forward as it began hurling towards the ground.

*Slam*

They struck the ground with a loud slam, and Shepard wasted no time in hitting the gas sending them blasting forward.

They had barely driven for a minute before the first canon shot rang throughout the mountains of Virmire. The geth returned fire with equal intensity, there was no definently no mistaking that his place was of importance to Saren… too many Geth for anything else to make sense.

"Shepard this is too much for the gun, we need to find some cover!" yelled Garrus from the canon

"Coming right up Garrus!" yelled Shepard in reply

They were soon in cover of some of the rocks, and Garrus made full use of it to let the canon cool down, damn thing was near the exploding point.

"Saren must really want this place protected…" grumbled Ashley

"What do you think he is doing here?" asked Kaidan

"Hah who the hell cares, we are blowing it sky high anyway" grunted Wrex

"I'm more concerned with what the Salarian team is going to tell us" supplied Tali

"Let us hope for the best" finished Liara

The team fell back into silence as the Mako roared forward, with the canon firing at the nearest target. The further they drove the more endless the geth seemed. They quickly found out why, when they were faced with a massive gate baring their way.

"We need those gates down!" yelled Garrus

"Stop the Mako" ordered Echo

Shepard did as asked on pure reaction, and thus didn't have time to react when Echo jumped out of the passenger window and began walking towards the Geth.

"Garrus give me some covering fire; focus on the units in front of the gate"

"_Sure but what the hell are you planning?_" asked Garrus over the com

"Let out some anger… Wrex get out here, I need your help" continued Echo

"_On my way_" responded Wrex

"_I'm coming out too_" said Ashley over the com

"No, remain inside… you would only be in the way" ordered Echo as he stopped and waited for Wrex to catch up with him

Once Wrex was at his side Echo padded him on the shoulder, and disengaged his helmet to reveal his face which was currently holding a rather pissed off look.

"What has you so pissed off?" asked Wrex

"None of your concern… you see the two corridors up on the gate?" said Echo

"Yeah, what of them?"

"You take the left, I'll take the right. Meet in the middle and we will clear the end chamber together"

"Sounds good enough for me"

Echo nodded, as his helmet moved up over his head once more. Withdrawing his Tigris from his back, Echo took one deep breath before taking off with Wrex hot on his heels.

Back in the Mako, Garrus was having a difficult time not hitting too close to Echo or Wrex as they ran.

"What the hell is he thinking, Shepard?!" yelled Ashley as she stuck her head into the front of the Mako

"I don't know" replied Shepard

"Was it just me, or did he seem quite… distressed?" asked Liara

"… He has been quiet ever since talking to Chakwas" replied Shepard

"Could she have told him something?" tried Ashley

"I don't know what could have done this…" stated Shepard

Back outside with Echo and Wrex, they had made it atop the gate and were currently in the process of blasting their way along the boardwalk.

Echo slid to avoid a shotgun blast before leveling his Tigris on the same Geth that fired the shot, moments later that geth was blown to pieces.

As he tried to stand back up, Echo found himself staring into the barrel of a Geth shotgun.

'_You have got to be shitting me…'_ Echo just managed to pass that thought through his head before…

*Bang*

Echo hit the ground with a loud crash; his shields had taken the impact and were almost gone now.

Using his leg, Echo kicked the legs out from under the Geth and quickly got to his feet. He wasted no time in crushing the head of the geth under his foot, and then continued his run down the corridor.

There was only one more Geth visible down the path, drawing his Nikana in preparation Echo sucked in a breath and waited. Sliding once more to avoid the gunfire, he cut the legs out from under the Geth and swung around to impale the machine through the flashlight eye.

"Getting slow in your old age" joked Wrex from behind him

"No… not slow… careless" replied Echo as he stood up

"There isn't any geth down in the main chamber, let's get the gate down and be on our way" said Wrex

"Stay here and keep guard, I'll be right back" replied Echo as he began walking towards the main chamber

Echo used the short amount of time to chastise himself, for losing focus right in a critical moment… if his shield hadn't been so strong in Neutral mode he would be a head shorter…

The console was thankfully easy enough to figure out, so the bridge was lowered quickly and Echo began heading back.

"Gate going down" reported Echo in his com

"_We see it_" responded Shepard

Sighing to himself Echo waved for Wrex to go ahead, right now Echo felt like jumping off something high and the gate was the closest thing.

Once he reached the open area he took a quick look down and saw Wrex going towards the Mako, with a single nod he vaulted over the railing and enjoyed the momentary feeling of falling. Rolling as he landed Echo quickly sprinted to the Mako and jumped back inside.

"Felt like showing off?" asked Shepard

"No, I felt like falling" replied Echo

That ended all attempts at a conversation, so Shepard just hit the gas and sent them on further along their way.

The same pattern repeated itself as before, drive and shoot, take cover to let shields recharge, drive and shoot, jump out of Mako to deal with another gate, drive and shoot. It was becoming quite meaningless until they finally saw the Anti-Air gun.

"Finally…" breathed Shepard "Okay people let's deal with this quickly so the Normandy can land" she ordered

Everyone but Garrus departed the Mako; he remained behind so he could bombard the first line of Geth. With the combined strength of the entire ground team it didn't take them long to clear the tower and switch off the anti-air gun.

"Clear passage, Joker" said Shepard

"_Heading to the rendezvous point Commander, see you there_" replied Joker

The team headed back to the Mako and they once more found themselves on the road. There was a remarkable lag of Geth on the final stretch to the Salarian camp, not that any of the team were complaining. Whatever made their job easier.

A silent cheer ran through the vehicle, as they saw the Normandy fly overhead and land near the Salarian base. It wasn't much later that the Mako's breaks grinded; the team had finally arrived at the Salarian base.

No one wasted any time in getting out of the Mako, some of the team headed towards the Normandy for a status update, the rest of the team moved towards the Salarians.

"You there, do you have any idea what the hell you have done?!" yelled a Salarian that came out to meet Shepard

"Hey cool it!" yelled Ashley in response

"I will most certainly not, you have just landed in a hot-zone. Every AA gun within ten miles have been alerted to your presence, now there is no chance for any of the reinforcements we called to make land-fall safely!" retorted the Salarian angrily

"We are the reinforcements you sent for" growled Echo as he approached

"What?! We asked the council to send a fleet" yelled the Salarian

"Your message was nothing but static, we were sent to investigate… so what is the situation?" demanded Shepard

"*Sigh* We found Saren's base of operations here… he set up some sort of research facility, the place is heavily guarded and geth are pouring out of every pore of the place" informed the Salarian

"Before we get any further into this, perhaps introductions are in order" stated Echo

"Of course, forgive my earlier brashness. I am Captain Kirrahe" replied Kirrahe

"I'm Spectre Shepard, this is Echo and Ashley Williams" continued Shepard

"I've heard a great deal about you Shepard" Kirrahe's gaze then fell on Echo "And even more about you Mr. Echo, not all good I'm afraid"

"I never expected my reputation to be flawless" replied Echo with a shrug

"I'm not surprised. As for what Saren is researching here, it seems he is using this facility to breed an army of Krogan" informed Kirrahe

"How is that possible?" interrupted Wrex as he had been listening in from afar

"It would appear Saren has discovered a cure for the Genophage" replied Kirrahe with a pointed look

"An army of Geth is bad enough, with an army of Krogan he would be unstoppable…" mused Shepard

"Exactly my thoughts, which is why we must ensure this facility and all its secrets are destroyed" replied Kirrahe with a nod

"Destroyed? I don't think so pup, my people are dying and this cure could save them" said Wrex in a surprisingly calm voice

"If that cure leaves this planet, the Krogan will become unstoppable. We cannot make the same mistake again" stated Kirrahe with a stern face

"We are not a mistake…" growled Wrex as he turned and began walking away

"Is he going to be a problem?" asked Kirrahe towards Shepard

"I'll go talk to him" said Echo and began walking away

Echo just followed Wrex silently, as he walked as far away from the Salarian camp as was safe. When the large Krogan finally stopped Echo stepped up to his side and stared out over the landscape with him.

"This isn't right… that cure could save my people" began Wrex

"But at what cost? I have told you Wrex, a cure is already in the early stages" continued Echo

"And who knows how long it would take for it to be finished? There is a ready cure right here"

"*Shrug* Then do it, strike me down and get killed by the Salarians. Or do the smart thing, and think just what the Krogan serving Saren is paying for that cure"

Wrex looked thoughtful for a moment before a light shone in his eyes.

"The last time we helped someone, our entire race ended up neutered… I doubt Saren would be as generous"

"Exactly… the Krogan here are fighting a losing battle, you know this Wrex. So help us, help us take down this facility and I promise you that you will see your people cured one day"

"*Sigh* Perhaps you are right… thank you for not letting me do something stupid"

"Anything for a friend"

"Leave me alone, I need to gather my thoughts"

"Of course, Wrex"

With those words Echo turned on his heel and began walking towards the camp, a small smile under his helmet… at least one thing went right on this mission, now everything else just needs to fall into place as well.

"Wrex going to be okay?" asked Ashley once Echo was within hearing range again

"Yeah, so you can put that gun down again Lieutenant…" _'Before I shove it up your ass, and press the trigger'_ added Echo silently in his head

With a few mumbled words Kaidan lowered the rifle and walked away.

"So do we have a plan?" asked Echo once he was close enough to Kirrahe

"It would seem so, if you would assemble your team Commander" said Kirrahe

With a nod Shepard turned and walked a few steps away, to begin the call.

"Your Commander has an excellent tactical mind" stated Kirrahe

Echo walked over and looked at the holographic map spread over the table

"That she does, how many teams are you taking with you?" questioned Echo

"I'm taking three teams"

"I'm coming with you"

"Well, I was going to ask your Commander to lend me one of you"

"And I am going; we are going to face lethal odds…" Echo left the rest unsaid

"And you are the most expendable part of their team?" asked Kirrahe putting words to Echo's last thoughts

"More or less"

Their conversation stopped as Shepard returned.

Everyone stood gathered outside the tent, and waited as Kirrahe had some final words with Shepard. Finally Kirrahe stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"The plan is simple; we will be converting our ships drive core into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. The Normandy will carry this bomb to the far end of the facility, for this to happen we need to infiltrate the facility and disable the AA gun's and pacify the ground troops. For this purpose I will be dividing my men into three teams, we will assault the front and cause confusion which will allow Spectre Shepards Shadow team to infiltrate from the back.

We do not expect to bring everyone back alive, which made my decision to ask for one of the Normandy's crew to come with us to help coordinate the teams that much more difficult, thankfully one of you already volunteered" Echo then stepped forward and nodded to most of the ground team, leaving many stunned faces "I wish you all the best of luck" Kirrahe finished as he turned and went to speak with his own men.

The ground team was on Echo, the moment Kirrahe was out of earshot.

"What the hell are thinking?" asked Shepard angrily

"He needs someone to help coordinate the teams, you need everyone else for more important tasks" replied Echo calmly

"But the chance of coming back from that alive…" began Liara

"Are none of my concern, of this entire team I am the most expendable… you all have bigger roles to play" stated Echo

No one batted an eye as Shepard tried to slap Echo, but they were surprised when Echo grabbed the hand and began pulling Shepard away from the group.

"I think he's pissed over something" Garrus stated the obvious

"I don't think the Commander is all that happy either" said Ashley

"Anyone have some medi-gel handy?" asked Liara

"I do" replied Tali as she lifted her arm

"Good, we are probably going to need it" stated Garrus

In the meantime Echo had dragged Shepard quite far away from the rest of the camp, all the way behind a rock formation so they were hidden from view.

"What the hell are you thinking?" sneered Shepard angrily

"What the hell are you thinking, letting your emotions getting the better of you like that?" returned Echo in a calm voice as he disengaged his helmet

"What do you mean "letting my emotions get the better of me", the man I love just told me he was expendable!" half-yelled Shepard in response

"Love… you don't love me Sarah…" replied Echo in a low voice

"What are you talking about, of course I love yo…"

*SLAM* Echo hammered his fist into the rock, with enough force to leave a small crack under his fist

"You don't keep that fact that you are dying from people you love!" roared Marc with a cold fury blazing in his eyes

Sarah almost looked like she shrunk slightly, as she stepped back and averted her gaze.

"…how did you find out?" she mumbled weakly

Marc released a large breath and rubbed his eyes "Chakwas accidently let it slip when we spoke…"

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to keep it hidden; I just didn't know how to tell you" she continued in a weak voice

"Around the time we got together might have been good…" he released a large breath again "I know I kept it hidden what I was… it was grinding away at me until I couldn't hold it in any longer, thankfully it didn't hurt us too badly but Sarah… something like this…"

"I know… I wanted to tell you before we got together, but then Feros happened and then I didn't know how to tell you without breaking your heart…"

Marc sunk down, until he sat on the ground and then leaned against the rock.

"I know now and I suppose that is what matters…now… now we deal with it"

"How? I have been to every doctor available, and talked with every specialist alive; there is no cure for what I have"

"There is…"

"What are you talking about?"

"The nanites I have in my blood… they could cure you"

"But don't you need them to live? And how would you even give them to me?"

"I have an emergency reserve of them aboard my ship… if it's the only way to save you, then I can see no better use for them"

"And what? You just inject them into my blood, and tadaa I'm cured?"

"No, first I take a blood sample, tissue sample, bone marrow sample and then run a few tests to ensure that the nanites won't kill you… then I start reprogramming them to actually work for you. and then we get to injecting them into your bloodstream. Followed by you going under observation to ensure they don't backfire on you and start killing you, and _then_ if everything goes right… they will take care of the virus and then you will be cured"

"*Snort* Is that it?"

Echo stood up with a sigh before nodding, to himself perhaps more so than to her.

"For now…"

"I don't suppose this means, I can convince you to let someone else go with Kirrahe?"

Echo shook his head in refusal "I'm not letting someone else go through that"

"*Sigh* then just come back alive, you hear me?"

And for the first time since his talk with Chakwas, Echo smiled a genuine smile as he reactivated his helmet with the words "When have I ever let you down?"

* * *

"Ready, Mr. Echo?"

Kirrahe got a nod in response as Echo moved up and stood beside him.

"Three teams, our goal will be to disable the AA-guns so the Normandy can deliver the package"

"What is the plan of attack?" asked Echo

"We will advance slowly, we cannot risk running into unexpected groups. Hopefully we can count of Shadow Squad to take down some of their defenses as they approach" replied Kirrahe

Echo nodded in confirmation as he took his place in the formation.

The approach to the base was quiet, most of the Geth seemed to be guarding the facility itself but they didn't mind… the longer it took them to be found the more havoc they could wreak to take attention away from Shadow Squad.

"Alright everyone there's the main entrance, team one approach with breaching charges" ordered Kirrahe

A round of confirmations sounded from team one as they approached, the charges were placed quickly and efficiently and soon enough team one was back at minimum safe distance.

"Gentlemen, it has been an honor" stated Kirrahe as he pressed the button sending a tremor through the front of the facility

Alarms began blaring instantly as Geth swarmed the entrance, the attack team barely managed to set up a proper line of cover before the first shots flew over their heads.

Echo had foregone his own weapons for the moment, as he had grabbed a spare assault rifle before the departure from the base camp. Popping out of cover he managed to bring down the shield of a few Geth, before being forced back into cover from the concentrated fire.

"They seem to be targeting you Mr. Echo" stated Kirrahe as he lobbed a grenade over his head and into the Geth

"Let us just say this isn't the first time we have met" replied Echo as he sunk a little lower after a shot hit the edge of his cover

"If we make it out of this alive, I'll look forward to the stories" said Kirrahe with a grin before popping out of cover and unleashing a widespread Overload that fried a few Geth circuits

Echo nodded as he quickly survived the rest of the team, group one and three were thankfully still full in number.

Slowly the first round of gunfire calmed down, as the last of the Geth fell to the combined gunfire of all three teams.

"Advance!" ordered Kirrahe

They slowly moved forward and made their first press into the facility. Echo had to admit that seeing it from the front entrance, was a completely different experience. Presently the Shadow Team was most likely going through the tall rocks surrounding the facility, and should hopefully soon hit the Communications Relay.

A few Geth came out of some side rooms, they were quickly dispatched and the assault team found themselves fortifying a large research room as they had detected a large Geth battalion on the way.

"Overloads at the ready!" ordered Kirrahe

Echo held tightly around the EMP grenade in his hand, ready to throw it across the room as soon as the door opened.

To his annoyance it proved to be useless, when the doors finally opened they weren't swarmed with Geth as they had expected. Rather mindless raging Salarians began pouring out through the door; the indoctrination was clearly seen on all of them… their beady eyes the biggest hint of all.

"What the hell are you waiting for?! Shoot!" roared Echo as he began firing at the approaching Salarians

This thankfully shook the rest of them awake, and they began firing against the oncoming horde as well. It didn't take much for the group of unarmed and mindless Salarians to get shot to pieces… though it did leave most of the assault team in a somber mood.

"More pointless deaths…" mumbled one of the salarians

"They will be avenged" stated Kirrahe as they began pushing further into the facility.

The assault team pushed forward, the facility held a rather atrocious number of corridors. These corridors were single handily responsible for the death of three Salarians, and Echo breaking another finger.

With a small explosion another door was blasted in, the team moved inside slowly only to come face to face with a completely empty room.

"Captain, this looks like the primary research station" said one of the Salarians

"Search the place men, let's see if we can find something useful" ordered Kirrahe

Echo moved over to one of the consoles standing against the wall, placing a hand over some exposed machinery he gave a small push.

"Eva, hack into the system as see if you can get me something" ordered Echo

"_Searching…_" responded Eva

It was some quiet moments, as Echo skimmed the data passing by inside his helmet. At first it was simply senseless data that made no sense, and then slowly it began taking form. Thankfully, he had spent enough time down in Medical with Sivra to understand at least some of the biology going on here. Though that wasn't to say some of this didn't go over his head, but from what he understood the first part of all this was the Genophage cure.

Then slowly the data turned more and more interesting, there was references to all sorts of research going from weapon's designing to architecture. When the files swapped over to disease research, well… Echo suddenly got a lot more interested. A number of horrible diseases were listed here, some he knew, some he didn't, but one thing was clear as day… these were killers.

Finally the data surrounding Indoctrination began passing… Echo wasn't afraid to admit that some if it made him ill, he had seen and done his share of unspeakable things but this just took the cake… some of the experiments listed here, there were no words for them… in fact he was quite sure he could make a Nekros user uncomfortable with some of this.

"_Search complete, download and transfer results to a Data-Disk?" _asked Eva

"Do it, but separate it into two. One for the Genophage data, one for the Indoctrination data and a final one for everything else" replied Echo

"_Downloading… downloading… download complete_" announced Eva

A few footsteps announced the approach of someone

"Find something interesting Mr. Echo?" asked the voice of Kirrahe

"Perhaps…" began Echo as he stood up and showed one the data-disks to Kirrahe "This little disk contains all the research data Saren did on Indoctrination, I have erased the data from the facility as well"

"That's amazing, perhaps there is something there which can help us combat it?" suggested Kirrahe

"I intend on destroying this as soon as I can, I am not letting the Council or anyone else have a chance to study this… it's sick" responded Echo in a low growl

"Destroy it?! Do you know what this data could do for the galaxy?" said Kirrahe with wide eyes

"I do Captain, and I also know just what sort of damage it can do. You may trust the council, but I do not" stated Echo in a tone brokering no argument

"Very well, but you do realize I have to mention this in my report" informed Kirrahe

"*Nod* I suspected as much, but I do not care for the council" replied Echo

"Let's continue, the AA-guns shouldn't be much further" said Kirrahe as he turned and walked away

Echo followed behind him, soon enough the assault team was back on track and continuing through the facility.

Echo was currently taking point for his group; he barely managed to turn a corner before he was looking down the barrel of five Geth rifles.

"Geth!" roared Echo as he ducked and rolled backwards to avoid the storm of gunfire

Battling in these tight corridors had advantages and disadvantages, one of the biggest disadvantages about it were they didn't have much room to take cover in. Most of the Geth on the other hand, they wasted no time in placing down their portable shields which only extended the fight further for the assault team.

"Those EMP grenades would be very helpful right now Mr. Echo!" yelled Kirrahe

Echo didn't have to be told twice, activating the small disk he roared "EMP!" before sending the grenade sailing through the air and in between the Geth.

The following electrical surge knocked down the Geth shields, and a few of the Geth units were momentarily disabled as well.

Of course the assault team didn't overlook such a chance, and happily rained down gunfire on what few Geth remained.

When everything was clear once more the assault team advanced, the next room they entered was thankfully the control room for the AA turrets.

"Tamip, get to work" ordered Kirrahe

"Yes sir, commencing hack" replied the Salarian

The rest of the assault team bunkered down in front of the door, given that it was the only way into the room at least they would hold the advantage as their enemy couldn't advance in great numbers.

* * *

In another part of the facility, a rather irritated Shepard was leaving a closed off part of the facility. The team had just had an aggravating conversation with Sovereign, the Reaper which Saren was currently using as flag ship.

That and they had found another beacon which Shepard had activated, now she had a headache rivaling the mother of all headaches and she wasn't happy.

"_Shepard we have found the controls to the AA-guns, we are in the process of shutting them down_" came Kirrahe's voice over the com

"Understood, we should closing in on the drop point" replied Shepard

"_Roger that, we will maintain radio silence unless an emergency arises_" stated Kirrahe and shut down the com link

"Okay people, double time!" ordered Shepard as she picked up the pace

The team just nodded in compliance and kept up with Shepard. They had faced relatively few problems getting this far, the Geth had been too focused on the assault team.

They had run into a single Asari that Shepard let go, though most of the team questioned her chances of getting far enough away from the explosion.

The team was coming up on a lowering bridge, further down the path behind said bridge stood three fully armored Krogan.

"Right… kill them?" joked Garrus

"Sounds like a plan" quipped Tali

And then they unleashed hell, Wrex and Liara worked together to throw biotics in every direction. Garrus and Tali were keeping the Krogan's shields down with their tech, and Shepard was putting her rifle through the ringer as the damn thing was almost near overheat stage.

It took a bit of effort and lord knows how many bullets, but the three Krogan were killed and the team could progress… though not without Wrex letting lose some rather choice Krogan words that sounded mighty colorful to the rest of the team, especially since their translators either didn't know the words… or simply just didn't want to translate them.

They passed through another door, then up a ramp and further into the facility. They encountered a small group of Geth and a single flyer but, that was dealt with quickly enough. If everything was as planned then they should be approaching the rendezvous point soon.

"The elevator over there Shepard, should take us up to the drop site" stated Tali

"Good" replied Shepard

They made their way to the elevator and called it down, of course they knew the chance of it being full of geth was quite large so Garrus placed a grenade right at the foot of the door and the team retreated to a safe distance.

When the doors opened and the first flashlight head came into view, Garrus smiled a feral smile and pressed the button blowing apart the three Geth.

"That was easy" quipped Garrus

"Let's get moving" ordered Shepard

They took the elevator up and sure enough they came to their destination, a few more Geth were waiting atop the elevator but their numbers by now had diminished so much that it didn't even prove a challenge.

Shepard quickly called it in, and the Normandy was soon on her way to the drop off point.

The Normandy made its grand entrance, and then the crew began off-loading the bomb.

"There now we just need to arm it, and we are good to go" commented Kaidan

"Good, get it done as quickly as possible… I want off this planet" replied Shepard

Kaidan gave a nod, at the same time Shepard's com gave a ping

"_Commander, do you read me?_" came Kirrahe's voice

"I read you Kirrahe, what's going on?" replied Shepard

"_We are pinned down at the AA-tower, the geth are swarming our position!_" yelled Kirrahe in response with gunfire ringing out in the background

"Shit! Normandy get them out of there!" yelled Shepard

"_Negative Commander, it's too dangerous. Just make sure that bomb goes off_" said Kirrahe before Joker had a chance to reply

"Go get them Commander; I still need a few minutes to set up the bomb anyway" interrupted Kaidan

"Okay, everyone to the AA tower!" ordered Shepard loudly

Everyone quickly assembled and was about to head out, but before that Shepard turned around and stared at Kaidan

"Kaidan… thank you" stated Shepard

"Don't mention it" replied Kaidan over his shoulder

With a final nod Shepard turned and led the team towards the AA tower.

The amount of Geth seemed to have increased out of nowhere, the closer to the tower they got the denser the groups got and the team had more than a few close calls.

They finally managed to break through another group, and into an elevator which would get them up to the approach of the AA tower.

Though they had barely stepped outside the elevator, before they saw a Geth ship flying over their heads and in tandem with that Shepard's com sounded off once more.

"_Watch out Kaidan, you have geth incoming_" said Echo over the com

"_They are already here, there is geth pouring out all over the bomb site!_" yelled Kaidan in reply with some gunfire erupting in the background

"Can you hold them off Kaidan?!" asked Shepard in a worried tone

"_Negative Commander, there is just too many of them. I don't think we can survive until you get here… I'm activating the bomb_" stated Kaidan

"What?! What the hell do you think you are pulling Kaidan!" yelled Shepard

"_I'm just making sure this bomb goes off no matter what, go grab Echo and get the hell out of here"_ replied Kaidan

"_Kaidan… shut the fuck up_" came Echo's voice over the shared com "_You are much more important to the functioning of the Normandy than me, so don't you dare try and play hero here" _a few seconds of stunned silence followed _"Wrex do me a favor, if Shepard doesn't want to go back to Kaidan willingly, drag her ass back there"_

"What?! You can't be serious Echo, just hold on!" yelled Shepard

"_It's too late, I have already covered the Salarians escape, there is only me here now. Go back to Kaidan and wait for the Salarians, they should be there in a minute… Wrex, do it_" ordered Echo

"Sorry Commander, I might not like it but he's right. Now am I going to have to do as he asked?" challenged Wrex

Shepard was by no means happy but she couldn't justify it to anyone, going after just a single person when you have just been told that an entire squad is coming down.

"Marc… I…"

"_Sarah stop it, I have made it out of worse situations… go grab Kaidan, we will be seeing each other again. Trust me"_ stated Echo before he cut the com

"Shit…" growled Shepard "Okay everyone back to the bomb site, double time!" roared Shepard as she turned and began running

* * *

Back up with Marc, he was currently breathing hard as he had just done perhaps the stupidest thing he had ever done. But thankfully it wasn't a lie when he said he would see Sarah again.

"Eva, get the Shadow here on the double… or I'm dust" ordered Marc as he slumped to the ground

"_Departing the Normandy, I'll be there as fast as I can_" replied Eva

Marc just smiled and disabled his helmet before taking a large breath, which ended up sending him into a coughing fit because of his damaged lungs.

He ended up just sitting there on the edge of the platform, enjoying the scenery of Virmire. Sarah had certainly been right, this place had gorgeous beaches.

It was an odd feeling sitting here, he knew that Eva was on her way with the Shadow… but there was still the chance that the bomb would go off faster than he anticipated, which would mean that he was in quite the predicament as he would be spread neatly out over Virmire as a fine red mist… if even that would remain.

A small sound registered in his ears and Marc looked up, sure enough there in the distance a certain Turian on a floating platform was approaching. Soon enough the visage of Saren Arterius was fast approaching, with a surprisingly calm expression.

"Hmm… I find myself disappointed, I had expected both Commander Shepard and a great deal more destruction" stated Saren with a hint of amusement as he came within Marc's hearing range

With a lazy flick of his wrist and a pointed thumb, Marc pointed behind him. Saren followed the gesture and his eyes widened slightly, behind some broken crates lay scores of Geth and the occasional Krogan. One would say it was quite the impressive display of chaos, a thing Saren could respect ever so slightly.

Landing his floating platform a little away from Marc, he then walked over to the half-breed and stood beside him and shared in the view.

"I've heard a lot about you Mr. Echo, you do fast efficient work" stated Saren

"As I have heard of you, you are not quite as subtle as I would prefer but you get the job done, damn the consequences" replied Echo

The two then fell into a silence as they watched the waves smash against the rocks, and listened to the gentle sound of the wind singing between the mountains.

"This planet is quite beautiful" mused Saren

"*Nod* I agree, it is a wonder it has not been claimed" replied Echo

"I believe it has something to do with the many pirates in the area"

"Hmm… perhaps"

Saren stood quiet for a moment before sitting down himself, much to Marc's surprise and amusement.

"You know I found myself expecting Shepard, not her second in command"

"*Shrug* I volunteered to join the Salarians, turned out to be the wrong call"

"Ah the Salarians, it was really no surprise that my Geth believed them the true threat"

"Kirrahe is a good captain"

"*Nod* I find myself in agreement with you, he was offered to become a Spectre you know"

"Really? And he refused?"

"Said that he served the Salarians, not the galaxy"

"One cannot fault him for that, we all do what we think is right"

"Which is why I am currently facing down a pressing issue, losing my facility here"

"Perhaps it is my turn to admit something, I expected you to come here with the intent of killing me"

"*Chuckle* Certainly it was a possibility, but I had now hoped to capture Shepard and use her as leverage to get the bomb disarmed"

"Ah, and I am afraid I do not carry the same weight"

With those words Marc rose to his feet, and stretched slightly making his bones pop. Opening a small compartment on his leg, Marc then pulled out a data-disk.

"Here" said Marc

Saren stood up and picked up the small device, he looked it over in curiosity.

"What is it, if I may ask?" inquired Saren

"That" began Marc with a nod towards the device "Is a data-disk containing all the research you did here, minus of course the Genophage cure as I have need of that, and your Indoctrination research as that is monstrous at best"

Saren's eyes widened even further as he stared down at the research, his hands beginning to tremble as he felt a weight lifting from his shoulders.

"I figured this could end in one of a few ways, one of them would be us fighting for this information and I think we both know that such a fight would last long enough for the bomb to go off. So I figured might as well save us both the trouble"

"You have no idea what this means to me… then perhaps it is not too late, perhaps I can still save her"

"Her? If I might be as bold?"

"My sister… she is back on Palavan, she has been suffering from a disease that will eventually kill her. I have been using the facility here to look for a cure, a week ago I was told they had made great progress and would soon be able to synthesize the first test. I feared the research would be lost, but with this there is still a chance"

Marc found himself quite speechless; he had no idea that Saren had a sister… much less a sick one. He knew that Saren wasn't all bad, simply misguided in his belief that he was doing what was best for the universe… but to think that there was something like this below the surface.

"And I find myself quite surprised once more, but I suspect there is plenty no one knows about you"

"*Chuckle* That would be a safe assumption, again thank you for this… this will save many lives if they were truly as far in their research as I was told"

Marc gave him a smile before putting his hand forward.

"I find that we have never been properly introduced, Marc *********… I respect you enough to let you know my real name"

Saren took the hand and shook it firmly, a small amused smile on his lips.

"Saren Arterius, I hope that the next time we meet Marc, it will be when this is going to end. Goodbye Mr. *********, it has been a short pleasure"

Marc gave a nod and watched as Saren boarded his platform, and began flying away.

Mere moments passed before he heard the familiar thrum of the Shadow's engine approaching and that small smile returned to his lips… time to see if the Shadow was fast enough to outrun a nuke.

* * *

**A/N: Well that certainly took a while to complete didn't it? I must apologies as I have been quite busy, I cannot promise that the next chapter will go any faster but I am sticking to my earlier promise though, Mass Effect: Dimensional Rift will see an ending.**

**More sappy and cringe worthy romance in this chapter, I know I suck at writing those parts but you only get better with practice and feedback… so yeah, if you cringed reading it, think of how I reacted writing it.**

**Hope to see you all again next time, drop a review if you are feeling kind.**

**-BundleJumper**


	17. Chapter 17

**Aboard the Shadow**

There was no outwards expression of pain, but that certainly didn't mean that each and every inch of Marc's body wasn't ready to kill him.

"_I hope you realize I am very mad at you_" stated Eva in an unusually hard tone

"I'm fine, just a few scratches" replied Marc as his armor began opening

The low hiss of pressure releasing, could be heard through the ship. Slowly the various parts of the Alpha Frame began separation, not long afterwards did a thick red liquid begin to seep through the cracks.

The chest compartment finally released itself, only for a wave of blood to rush forward and cover the floor. With a few pained sounds, Marc managed to take one step out of the Alpha Frame. The rather sickening sound of his bones slowly breaking spread out as he applied weight to the leg.

It wouldn't be unfair, to say that Marc's body looked like a disaster. Had the Alpha Frame not restrained most of his bones, well, he would surely have some poking through his skin. Though fear not, they had still broken through in multiple places and were the reason for the rather impressive display of blood.

With a few sloppy steps, Marc managed to slump his way into the engineering compartment of his ship. He quickly laid himself down on the medical table, and then gestured for Eva to begin the procedure.

"_Procedure commencing, injecting relaxant, I will see you later Marc_"

Marc just gave a weak thumb up, at the same time as he felt the injection taking hold and the world around him going dark.

***Flashback/Memory***

"Mr. Echo are you sure?" asked Kirrahe in a slightly worried tone

"Get out of here Captain, I can keep them off long enough for your team to get away" replied Echo

"Very well… Then Mr. Echo it has been an honor serving with you" stated Kirrahe as he saluted, the rest of the assault team joined him shortly after

Echo just waved his hand in front of his face "Don't worry about it, now get out of here"

The Salarians all turned and began running; most of the Geth saw this but weren't sure if they were to proceed. Their prime directive had been to protect the facility, and upon discovery of Echo they were to terminate him.

Echo himself breathed a long sigh "This is going to hurt like a bitch…" he mumbled to himself

"_Operator, you aren't thinking off…"_

"Yes I am Eva, I know you don't want me to but there is no other way to survive this"

"_But Marc… if you use that, the odds of you surviving won't be much better"_

"True… sorry Eva. Command Override: Mute"

A small ping sounded, as Eva's voice module was turned off. Taking a stand once more, Echo shook his limbs to loosen them as much as possible before attempting this. When the Geth began advancing, he gave a small smile to himself.

"Voice Command: Emergency Override: Engage Prime Protocol, Subject: _**ASH**_"

Had Geth not been mindless machines, they might have felt the way the temperature seemed to drop.

It was slow at first, the colors of the Alpha Frame shifting around impossibly until settling on a brilliant white, with bright shining gold decorations. Where a once eerie dark red light shone, a brilliant blue brimmed with power.

The shifting of colors was the first sign for the Geth; the second was when the entire armor began releasing what sounded like a maniacal cackle.

As the plates began shifting and turning, the sound of bones breaking and skin tearing could be heard echoing into the mountains. Echo's own screams were being muffled, from inside his helmet.

Ever so slowly the image of the Neutral Alpha Frame ebbed away, and the horrifying and awe inspiring image of the Prime Ash stood in its place.

It wasn't much different from its standard counterpart, the Prime version held a sleek helmet that encompassed the skull. The once light smoke that encompassed the arms, were now oozing out and obscuring most of the Ash from view. Aside from the helmet, nothing else was incredibly different. A little thing off here, a small detail added there but in essence, nothing major.

"Fuck me… I'd forgotten just how painful this is" growled Echo to himself

And it was painful; the Prime Protocol was a life threatening, emergency only action. Using it you basically overpower the Warframe of your choice, augmenting its existing abilities beyond the norm. The problem with the protocol came in the energy consumption; the raw amount of power it pulls out is so great that it will deplete the regular stores of energy in a matter of minutes.

To compensate, the Prime Protocol then begins tapping into the nearest energy source, the operator. It first targets the nanites in their blood, then it goes onto taking energy from the nerves, and finally it aims directly for the small constant spark that keeps your brain going. All in all; you have perhaps a grand total of five minutes, before the Prime Protocol kills you to sustain itself.

The after effects are no less devastating; at first there is the violent transformation from Regular to Prime. Then there is the excruciating pain, as there are no dampeners on the shifting plates during a Prime transformation, which basically means that you are going to snap a few bones.

You will be bleeding, both external and internally, for the entire duration of the Prime Protocol. When you finally step out of it, well… expect a bloodbath and then some. The last, and perhaps worst, side effect is that once you use the Prime Protocol it will need a disastrous amount of time to recharge. This was a safety mechanism that was put it early in development to ensure that an Operator couldn't risk his life twice, just to get killed by the side effects the second go around.

But there was something else there… a familiar feeling… that glorious feeling of _raw, _**unfiltered**… _**Power**_

"Come then, who wants to die first!?" roared Echo as he charged the Geth

It was a known side effect to the Prime Protocol, that sudden influx of power had a habit of warping the mind. In the later years of development, it had become quite an in house joke to refer to this effect as the "Bloody Echo Effect"… a sort of twisted name given in honor of just what Echo had done, and how he himself earned that title.

The few Geth that actually did attempt to fight him, didn't last long. Most of them were cleaved through with the Nikana; others had holes in them from where Echo had drilled his fist through.

It was a bemusing sight, to see one of the supposed greatest warriors of all time… darting between opponents while roaring, he looked more like a Krogan on a blood rage than a Tenno.

A few blips announced the arrival of the Geth reinforcements; they seemed to have diverted the entirety of their attention towards Echo… _'Good'_ was the only thought going through his head.

"Command: Acquire Targets" ordered Echo

Inside his helmet things began happening, the Geth slowly began glowing a feint red. One by one they were all marked, until each and every Geth was marked for death.

With a somewhat sadistic smile, Echo jumped backwards and gave himself some distance from the Geth. He gazed over them and waited, they were slowly coming towards him, getting closer together… perfect.

"Execute"

And then he was gone. For a second there was no sound, and then it all began. The sound of metal being ripped apart began spreading, and then the sound of oil and grease splashing on the ground joined in. The symphony of sounds continued, as Geth dropped to the ground with various parts of them either missing, or downright obliterated.

An ear rending laugh was accompanying the chorus of destruction; Echo was high on his own power like never before. He had only ever used the Prime Protocol once before outside of testing, it had been a dire situation but he had snuck out using the Loki Prime.

But this was different, now he was spreading such incredible destruction and no one was here to stop him!

The speed Echo was displaying was almost impossible, the Geth were slowing down by the second because their optic receptors began displaying multiple versions of Echo, each one destroying a Geth in one way or the other.

Finally Echo seemed to slow down, there was only a few Geth left now but even they fell a few seconds later. From the very point he had vanished from, Echo reappeared with his heavy breathing heard clearly through the helmet.

"D-Disengage P-Prime Protocol" grumbled Echo

Oh god it hurts… everything hurts… breathing hurts, speaking hurts, walking hurts… _thinking hurts_!

"Motherfu…" growled Echo as the plates began shifting once more, the entire Alpha Frame returning to neutral mode.

Along with the Neutral mode came a few more broken bones, and just a bit more blood that wasn't already threatening to recreate the great flood.

Grumbling, Echo limped over to the edge of the large platform and sat down, a great deal of pain shooting through his body as he did.

"If I ever… and I mean _ever_ think of doing that again, shoot me" growled Echo as he leaned his head back

***Memory/Flashback End***

*Beep* … *beep* … *beep*

The sound of the heart monitor woke Marc back up, he had no idea just how long he had been out. But taking into consideration that he everything was in pain, he suspected he was at least alive.

"_You are awake_" chimed Eva's voice

"What's left of me anyway… damage?" asked Marc with a tired sigh

"_Total Collapse of both lungs, several muscles torn or downright removed. Left leg completely broken, right arm completely broken, lower right leg broken. Cranium intact with little damage, all but ribs one and two are broken as well. 86.432% blood lost, thankfully no nanites where lost, total heart failure approximately 3.43 hours ago. Congratulations on being revived from the death once again, Operator_" supplied Eva

"How much is still under repair?"

"_Ribs Eight and seven need an additional day to heal completely. Right arm is at 95% capacity, I suggest not using for the next 24 hours as well. Aside from that you are completely healed, though a minimum of two days' rest, before doing anything excessive is suggested_"

"*Sigh* Great…" grumbled Marc as he sat up and leaned against the wall "Where are we Eva?"

"_Aboard the Normandy, I arranged for us to rejoin them as soon as possible_" replied Eva

"When did we board?"

"_6.23 hours ago_"

"Shit…"

"_Commander Shepard has been by the ship, 43.5 times since we landed_"

"43.5?"

"_She is currently approaching again_"

"Open the locks"

"_Doors unlocked_"

Marc stood up with a pained expression, and walked carefully to the entrance hatch of the Shadow.

Upon his approach, the door gave a low hiss as it began opening. Down at the bottom of the ramp stood Shepard, a very scared look on her face, Though Marc's own was one of relief and happiness.

"Told you I would see you again" said Marc with a large smile

He didn't get an answer, as Sarah closed the distance between them with a few big steps and threw her arms around his neck.

He ignored the pain; it was overshadowed by the warmth spreading in his chest anyway.

The two stood there for what must have seemed like an eternity, just reassuring one another that they were still alive.

"I thought I lost you again…" came Sarah's strained voice

"I'm not that easy to get rid of…"

Moments later their lips were locked, both needing the extra reassurance that this wasn't just some trick. Sarah perhaps needed it the most, having believed Marc lost to her twice now. Marc was not without his fears as well, the kiss was perhaps the greatest assurance that he was still alive, and by the maker he was thankful for it.

*Slap*

"Don't you ever scare me like that again" growled Sarah in an angry tone

"Wouldn't dream of it" replied Marc with a grin

"Why didn't you tell me that Eva was on her way to save you?"

"Because I wasn't sure if she could make it in time, so I didn't want you to get false hope in case I actually ended up dead"

"Don't try and be noble next time, just bloody listen to orders!"

"I couldn't let Kaidan die, he is essential to this mission"

"So are you…"

"Not in the same way, I love you Sarah but you have to realize that my life is expendable. I don't fill some greater role in all this; I'm just along for the ride"

"Just… just… *Sigh* just come up to bed will you? It's in the middle of the night cycle. We can continue tomorrow"

"Now that sounds like a plan"

* * *

It was a tired Marc, that almost dropped out of bed next morning. It wasn't because his sleep cycle had been butchered, ohh no that he had learned to deal with. But a thing he had _not_ been informed of, prior to dating Shepard that is, was that apparently when you have a brush with death the following night just has to be that much more intense… not a good thing for a wounded man.

Which was exactly the reason he was currently tip-toing into the bathroom, some of his wounds were opening back up again. Nanites were good, but a cut that reached the bone still needed time to heal.

When he caught himself in the mirror it was a strange sight, he had gone almost two hundred years without any major injury that left a scar and look at him now. Well… Wrex would say it was "proud battle scars" or something, not completely wrong in a sense but he highly doubted that self-inflicted wounds count.

"Just Ilos left old boy… then you have two years, two years to relax and just _live_" mumbled Marc to himself as he placed his forehead on the mirror

And it was the truth, right there, right now, Echo had only thing on his mind and that was surviving Ilos. He didn't care how much of the timeline would be butchered, he didn't care who had to die that wasn't meant to for it happen. He and Sarah were both coming out of this, one way or another.

Marc quickly dressed and left Shepard to her sleep, he had every intention of letting her rest as much as possible.

He returned every nod, wave and greeting he got as he moved aimlessly through the ship. It was very early in the day cycle, so at most a few privates were waking up for morning duty.

He even skipped breakfast, not feeling like eating anything while his stomach still recovered. So he decided just to go into the observatory and stare at the stars.

A relieved sigh escaped him as he entered the observatory, believing himself to be alone. Sadly that proved a falsehood as he rounded the sofa, and saw Kaidan lying there staring into the ceiling.

"Lieutenant" greeted Marc

Kaidan flinched as his eyes regained some focus, his gaze then fell upon Marc and his eyes widened.

"Ah it's you, figures…" mumbled Kaidan

"Do you wish for me to leave, Lieutenant?"

"No, no… I was just thinking about something, was all" mumbled Kaidan as he scratched his head

"Something concerning me I take it" replied Marc as he sat down

"… you _ordered_ her to go back for me… I-I… why?" tried Kaidan

"Why indeed? As I said Lieutenant, you are more important to the operations of the Normandy than I am. I am expendable, just another mercenary" replied Marc with a weird smile

"Bullshit, you aren't expendable. Plenty on this ship depend on you for various things; you didn't think I knew that? Also you are not expendable to her… not to…"

"You don't think I now that Kaidan!?" interrupted Marc with a yell "You don't think I realize, that it would have completely broken Sarah's heart if I had died? You don't think it felt like ripping my own heart out, when I asked her to go back for you?!"

"Then why?" mumbled Kaidan weakly

"Because as much as we love each other… she could have completed this mission without me, I could always be replaced by another hired gun. But you are a trusted friend; you have served with her longer than anyone else aboard the Normandy… you are an essential piece"

"You think you are that easily replaced? Sarah would have broken down completely, if you had died… she wouldn't have been able to go on!" yelled Kaidan, now angry

"Do _not_ presume to know her like that, _Lieutenant._ My death would have hurt, yes, but she would have moved on for the better of the mission. She knows that there is a time for action, and a time for mourning the lost!" yelled Marc in response

Kaidan flinched backwards a little; he looked down and shook his head. He knew that Echo was right, he didn't know Shepard that well anymore. They hadn't spoken like they usually would, in fact that had stopped even before Echo had joined the crew.

"I've said it before Kaidan; you're a good soldier, but perhaps not the best at thinking of the big picture. I will admit my dislike for you is substantial, but I am willing to put it all to rest. So Lieutenant what do you say, peace?" said Echo as he put his hand forward

"I can't say I like you, or that I ever will. But yeah, peace sounds good… we aren't in a position to have enemies inside the ship anyway" replied Kaidan as he shook the offered hand

"*Chuckle* truer words have not been spoken in a long time. Let's go get something to eat, I find myself hungry"

"Sounds good"

* * *

Ashley could have sworn she was going insane, there was no other explanation for Echo and _Kaidan_ sitting and eating breakfast while leading a civilized conversation.

Perhaps asking Chakwas for some medication wouldn't be a terrible idea, certainly would help with other things as well. If only it helped with what she was going to talk with Liara about.

Steeling her resolve, Ashley opened the door to Liara's room and took one step inside… before all her courage left her, and she felt like crawling back out of the room and hiding in the darkest corner of the ship.

'_Why is this so difficult…'_ she thought as she shuffled into the room, hoping not to alert Liara

"Ashley?" came Liara's voice from behind a stack of crates

'_Damnit…'_

"It's me Li"

"I was just going through some of my things, you know, from before Therum"

"Oh?" asked Ashley as she moved closer, her curiosity rising "Some of your old archeology stuff?"

Liara finally poked her head up from the boxes, revealing a rather tired set of eyes though brimming with joy

"Yes that, but also a few things from home on Thessia" she held up a small box "Like this for example, my mother gave this to me just before I left"

Ashley climbed over the boxes, and joined Liara on the floor sitting cross legged.

"What is it?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Liara as she opened the box and pulled out… a teddy bear, or at least what Ashley assumed was a teddy bear. Given that it was made out of some type of cloth, and the four extra arms where a little confusing but from a glance… definently teddy bear

"A plush toy?"

"Gramps called it a Teddy Bear; he made it for me after I was born… supposedly I grabbed on to it, and didn't let go for a week"

Ashley couldn't hold in the chuckle at the reddening cheeks of Liara, oh she had a few embarrassing things from her past down in her locker… but Liara didn't need to know that.

"It's cute…" mumbled Ashley

Liara put down the teddy with a smile, and then faced Ashley completely

"But that is not why you are here" she stated

"No it isn't… I just don't know how to say it…" mumbled Ashley

"Something about this is worrying you?"

"*Sigh* Yeah I guess it is… ever since you pulled out Ilos from the vision in the Commander's head, well I have been thinking"

"And that led to your worrying"

"Ilos is probably where we end this, after that this mission is over with and I'll have to return to the Alliance"

"Ah… and by then I will return to my archeology. You are afraid that we will leave each other"

Ashley slumped against the crates with a loud sigh

"Yes, yes I am. I love you Li, but the Alliance is all I have ever known… I don't know if I'm ready to give that up"

"I can see your dilemma; I too don't feel ready to give up on my career in archeology just yet. Who knows, perhaps we can stick it out and maybe one day we can find each other again… *chuckle* "settle down in a white picket fence house, have a few children and grow old together" as Gramps was so fond of saying…"

Ashley couldn't restrain the chuckle, though she would admit it sounded nice… growing old together, having kids…

'_Children… am I ready for that sort of responsibility, will I ever be?_' thought Ashley

"That sounds amazing Li, I just hope you are right"

"How about you help me sort through all of this? Clear your head a little?"

"Yeah… that sounds good… thanks Li"

Liara only smiled in reply before opening another crate.

* * *

Roughly around the time Liara opened up her third crate, Shepard was making her way to the med-bay. Chakwas had asked her to come down; something about her illness that had her worried… she really didn't like the sound of that.

To her surprise, or perhaps not that much, when she entered the med-bay it wasn't just Chakwas, Marc was standing right next to her.

"I take it this does in fact, _not,_ have anything to do with my illness?" asked Shepard

"It most certainly does Commander, you think I would call you down using that reason otherwise?" stated Chakwas in a huff

"You are her because I need a blood, tissue and bone marrow sample from you" stated Marc

"You mean for the nanites?" asked Shepard

"Yes. Chakwas informed me that we are heading towards the Citadel, something to do with you getting recalled. That means that now is as good a time as ever, to start preparing you for receiving the nanites" replied Marc

"And I would like to do a follow up, and who knows perhaps we can find a way to cure the disease by copying what the nanites do" stated Chakwas

"Sorry Karin but that isn't going to happen, the nanites find the virus and then destroy it. No fancy tricks or clever use of the body's own system" said Marc with an apologetic smile

"Ah… yes that is a shame" Chakwas then turned towards Shepard "If you would sit down, Shepard, we could get started with a blood sample"

Shepard gave a nod and sat down in the chair, rolling up her sleeve she waited.

"So how soon will those nanites be ready?" asked Shepard as Chakwas took the blood sample

"*Shrug* All depends on what the tests reveal, if you just so happen to have some special extra thing… like I don't know, a rare virus that runs in the family" Shepard rolled her eyes at that one "Then this could potentially take a while, but I'm confident I should have them ready before Ilos"

"I must admit I am quite curious about one thing, just what will these nanites do to our Commander, once her disease has been cured" mused Chakwas as she put away the blood sample, and prepared to take the tissue sample

"That's a good question, Marc?" Shepard directed the question towards him

"Well… I'm not really sure to be honest, I mean I'm half and half so the nanites took to me because of the Tenno DNA. When I am done reprogramming them, well then they should work for you like they do for me… so I guess that would mean with "only" human DNA you would live some roughly 150 years longer than usual…" stated Marc while rubbing his head in thought

"Extraordinary, so they would keep her body running for that long?" asked Chakwas

"Well partially, I mean I still need to eat, drink and sleep like any regular person. So obviously she would need to do the same, but her body would simply age that much more slowly because the nanites keeps her body healthy" continued Marc

"Will it impact my combat performance?" asked Shepard with slight worry

"Yes and no… it's a bit difficult to explain, on one hand you have increased regeneration in the form of the nanites closing all minor wounds. Then there is the downside… like me you will end up having periods of low energy, this is because your body still needs to get used to producing double the needed energy to keep the nanites fueled when they attach to your nerves" continued Marc with a now slight frown on his face

"So what, I will become slower?" questioned Shepard

"Yes, for a time. Once your body has adjusted to supplying the nanites with sufficient energy, then you should return to your original speed. If you were capable of operating a Warframe like me, then you would be able to reap the benefits of your body generating double the energy. You see when I am inside my Warframe, the nanites draw energy from the armor rather than me. Which leaves my body with double the energy to burn, which is why I can actually fight in close quarters with my blade against gunfire and the sort, I simply think double as fast as my opponents" finished Marc

"How long are we talking, you know before my speed would be back to normal?" asked Shepard now slightly less worried

"Hummm… a good question, you already have good reflexes and a quick mind so… I would guess a month, maybe a little longer" replied Marc with a shrug

"This might hurt a little Shepard" interjected Chakwas as she prepared to take a bone marrow sample

"That's okay Cha… Fuck!... you call that a little?!" yelled Shepard with a look of mock betrayal

"Oh stop being such a big baby, you have definently felt worse" chided Chakwas as she began packing the three samples

"*Chuckle* The mighty Commander Shepard, scared of a needle" mused Marc from the side

"Oh like you aren't scared of needles?" rebutted Shepard

"Shepard I have undergone 458 tests in all my years since I became a Tenno, you honestly think I am still scared of needles?" asked Marc with a blank expression

"Yes?" tried Shepard

"Okay only those small bastards that hit a nerve…" conceded Marc with a grin

"Well here you go Marc, I expect to be informed if anything is wrong" stated Chakwas as she handed Marc the case of samples

"Of course Karin, just clear a bed I'm sure I will be admitting our dear Commander for excessive overworking soon enough" quipped Marc as he left the med-bay, accompanied by a laughing Chakwas and the sound of raspberries

Marc quickly made his way back down to the armory, intending on getting this down as soon as possible. Though when he stepped out of the elevator, something caught his attention in the form of a group of Salarians.

"Ah Mr. Echo, I had hoped to catch you before we reached the Citadel" called Kirrahe as he approached

"Captain Kirrahe, it is good to see that you all made it… I trust you didn't lose anyone on your way to the bomb site?" asked Marc

"No the path was clear, I don't know what you did Mr. Echo but the Geth certainly was distracted"

"I did what I had to; let's leave it at that Captain. Now I must excuse myself, I have important work to do"

"Of course Mr. Echo, thank you once again"

Marc gave a salute before stepping away from Kirrahe, and continued towards the Shadow.

He stepped inside and sealed the door behind him, this work was too important for anyone to disturb him.

"Eva, I'm going to give you three samples. A blood, tissue and bone marrow sample, they all come from Shepard and I need you to run a check"

"_Understood"_

Marc stepped over to his communications console, and found Karick's number and called him up.

"_Marc, is something wrong?_" asked Karick as soon as he picked up the call

"Nothing is wrong my friend, but I am about to run some tests on Shepards blood, tissue and bone marrow. I thought you might wish to listen in" replied Marc

"_Well this should be interesting, do you think you can find some traces of the Technocyte in her blood?_"

"I hope not, but somehow I don't think we are that lucky"

A small chime sounded, letting Marc know that the samples were loaded and ready to be viewed. Quickly maneuvering the menu, Marc pulled up the blood sample.

"Sweet fucking hell!" and then promptly yelled as the entire image spread out in front of him

"_What is it my friend?_" questioned Karick

"Her blood cells… t-they're… no it can't be…"

"_By the Lotus get your shit together! What is going on?_"

"Her blood… it's like ours, but that is impossible… unless…"

"_Unless?_"

"Eva bring up tissue sample"

An image appeared next to the blood sample, thankfully this time Marc kept himself from swearing but his face told the entire story.

"Karick?_"_

"_Yes?_"

"What would you say, after living with humans, their average tissue resistance is?"

"_Quite weak depending on where you attack, one layer in the weak points, two in the strong ones. But that is solved by their ability to regenerate it… why?_"

"Sarah's tissue sample… it has _five layers_"

"_What?! No that can't be right, I took a sample from Marie and she had two layers… there is no way a human would naturally develop an extra three layers, no way_"

"You think I'm lying about this?! I'm looking at the samples myself… there are five layers of resistance here, however that came to be"

"_*Sigh* What about the last test?_"

"Eva, pull up the bone marrow sample"

The images in front of Marc flickered, as a third one was added. This time Marc wanted to exclaim something, but he didn't know what to say… this was getting out of control at such a pace, that he was starting to think someone was messing with him.

"_How bad is it?_"

"I-It's a carbon copy…"

"_*Gulp* Of what?_"

"Of ours… her bone density is the same as a Tenno"

"_You need to do a full body scan of that woman, right now!_"

Marc agreed silently, and in a half-daze called down Shepard to his ship. How the hell did this happen? Even if the Technocyte had somehow, been absorbed by one of Shepards ancestors it shouldn't have done this to their bodies.

It wasn't a minute later that Shepard stepped into the Shadow, a look of worry plastered on her face.

"What is the emergency?" she asked

"Strip" ordered Marc in a dead tone

"What?" asked Shepard in raw shock

"Strip down to your underwear, right now. I need to do a full body scan" ordered Marc as he turned and continued studying the three samples

Sensing the seriousness and urgency in his voice, Shepard did as he asked and was soon standing in her undergarments.

"Eva, scan her"

"_Commencing scanning_"

A small green beam struck Shepard in her chest, slowly it spread until it covered the entire front of her body in a green light. It then began turning around her, once, twice and three times before the light disappeared.

"_Scan complete_" announced Eva

"You can put your clothes back on" stated Marc as the information began scrolling

"Eva, give me a rundown, Karick are you listening"

"_I'm listening_" stated Karick

Once Shepard had gotten dressed, she moved to stand next to Marc to look at the data herself

"_The body scan revealed your fear, Marc. Commander Shepard carries the Technocyte virus inside her, though this version seems to… co-exist with her body. The scan also revealed that this is the reason behind her increased tissue strength, the Technocyte has been slowly enhancing her body to accommodate it as she is its host_" informed Eva

"Marc… what does all this mean?" asked Shepard

"_It means, Commander Shepard, that you are, at least biologically, something that could be considered a version of the Tenno… or at least what the Tenno were a long time ago_" supplied Karick

"Karick this means…" began Marc

"_Yes… if we could do it right, she could potentially pilot a Warframe_" finished Karick for his friend

"Wait what? So because of this virus, I should be able to control one of those armors?" asked Shepard with slight disbelief

"In theory… I can use a Warframe because of my Tenno DNA, part of that DNA is the remnants of the Technocyte virus. So because you have part of it in you…" began Marc

"*Sigh* Then in theory, you should be able to reprogram one to work for me since I have the same DNA" finished Shepard

"_Correct. Though this begs the question, how has your body maintained the virus for all these years? Because obviously it cannot only be you, your mother and ancestors connected to Hayden must also have carried the virus… but if I remember correctly, one of you were listed as having assimilated the disease_" said Karick

"Mary Ann, Hayden's grand-daughter" supplied Shepard

"Perhaps not assimilated… a more likely explanation would be the virus went into a state of hibernation, and then simply waited for a time that it could sustain itself again" suggested Marc

"_I can see where you are going with this, after lying dormant so long eventually the bodies of the Tenno family simply accepted it… so when the disease came out of hibernation, well, it simply lived alongside the body in some sick symbiosis?_" tried Karick

"That would be the best suggestion, but you must remember that the virus would do everything to survive. Even if that meant strengthening the body it inhabited, which would explain the increased physical prowess of Sarah and her family… and when one of them either got pregnant, or got someone else pregnant…" mused Marc

"_The virus saw a chance to live longer, so it integrated itself into those organs… Marc this, this is extraordinary_" stated Karick

"And a bit creepy for me…" mumbled Shepard

"Sorry/_Sorry_" chimed the two together

"So what does this mean, you know for the whole nanite thing?" asked Shepard

"It means that I need a bit longer to make them ready, but look at the bright side. This means you won't be slower by the time we hit Ilos" replied Marc

"_I would though suggest a few more tests, and then begin prepping the nanites. Anything else is just inviting disaster_" supplied Karick

"Yes and knowing Marc… I would probably end up with pink skin" mused Shepard

"Keep joking like that missy, and I'll make you into a _panda_" returned Marc

"Karick I suggest you turn off the com, unless you wish to see the death of your good friend" said Shepard ominously

"_Good knowing you Marc, send me a souvenir from the afterlife_" said Karick as he cut the com with a large grin on his face

Marc turned his rather frightened face towards Shepard, and gave a weak smile.

"Come on, it's not like I mentioned the panda panties…"

"You. Are. So. Dead!"

* * *

**Citadel Alliance Dock, aboard the Normandy**

Everyone was preparing to depart the Normandy, though some were visibly less happy about it than others. Echo would be an excellent example, he knew that they were about to be grounded… and boy did he have a few choice words to say, he kind of wanted to see if he could make the Salarian Councilor vomit.

"Well you look happy" quipped Ashley from his left

"Call me a pessimist, but I think we are walking into a shit storm" replied Echo in a displeased tone

"It isn't just you, something about this stinks" added Wrex

"I agree, if they were assembling a fleet, wouldn't it make sense to send the Normandy out to scout ahead" supplied Wrex

"Perhaps they need us here for something?" suggested Liara

"Let's just hope I'm wrong" Echo closed the conversation

Everyone agreed in silence and waited, Shepard would be here any moment and then they would head out.

Sure enough Shepard arrived moments later, looking not so happy which only added to the apprehension of the rest of the team.

"Echo you are with me, we are going to the council. The rest of you, I need you to finish up your business as fast as possible. We are heading out at first opportunity" ordered Shepard

A chorus of acceptance sounded, as they gathered into groups and left the Normandy. Garrus and Wrex were headed towards C-Sec, Garrus had a few reports to check up on. Ashley, Liara and Tali were heading down to gather supplies, and perhaps look at some new equipment. Kaidan was meeting up with a group of Alliance Marines, reinforcements for their Ilos mission no doubt.

Shepard and Echo met up with Anderson in front of the council chambers, he was not going to miss this and he was just as worried as Echo… he had been kept in the dark, and he didn't like that.

"What do you think Anderson, good or bad?" asked Echo

"Udina was the one that called this meeting… bad right from the get go" replied Anderson

"Let's get this over with gentlemen, we have a Turian to catch" said Shepard as she began heading into the chambers.

Once they were inside they saw Udina, he was standing in front of the council and was apparently leading a small conversation, though he went silent as Shepard approached.

"Commander, thanks to you the council is finally doing something against Saren" stated Udina with an annoyingly smug smile

"The Ambassador is correct, if Saren really would be foolish enough to attack the Citadel, as you believe, then we will certainly be ready for him" stated Tevos

"We have patrols stationed at every mass relay, leading to the Citadel from the Terminus Systems" added Sparatus

"A bloody blockade, you think that is going to stop him? What about Ilos? Saren is there right now, looking for the conduit. What the hell are you doing about that?" questioned Shepard angrily

"Ilos is only accessible through the Mu-relay, which is deep within the Terminus, Commander. Sending a fleet in there would only have one result, full-scale war" replied Valern

"The Council is correct, Shepard. Now is the time for discretion. Saren's greatest weapon was his secrecy, with that now removed he is no longer a threat, it's over" stated Udina from next to Shepard

"If a fleet is too much, then send me. The Normandy could infiltrate with its stealth drive, we wouldn't be discovered. Discretion just like you wanted" countered Shepard

"You detonated a Nuclear bomb on Virmire, I wouldn't call that discreet" said Sparatus angrily

*SLAM* Echo hammered his fist into the railing, denting it and getting everyone's attention.

"That fucking nuke is the only, read my lips, _only_ reason that when Saren does come knocking, there won't be an army of Krogan behind him!" yelled Echo in anger "So don't you fucking dare complain"

"Mr. Echo! The Commander and your own style might have worked in the traverse, but Ilos requires a more… deft touch. We have the situation fully under control, you just leave this to us" said Tevos in a surprisingly calm voice

"No you don't! If Saren finds the conduit, then we are all screwed! We have to go to Ilos" yelled Shepard before turning to Udina, hoping to get some support

"*Sigh* Ambassador Udina, I sense that the Commander won't be letting this go" muttered Sparatus loud enough for everyone to hear

"There are some serious political implications here, Commander. Humanity has made great strides thanks to you, but you are becoming more trouble than you are worth" stated Udina in a tired tone

Echo closed the distance between the two, with two long steps before grabbing Udina and lifting him up by his throat.

"Echo let him go" ordered Shepard calmly, though it was easy to her the edge in her voice

Echo dropped Udina, though he didn't seem happy to do so. Then he returned to his place next to Shepard, though it was now clear that everyone was on thin ice

"*Cough* It's just politics, Commander. You've done your job, now let me do mine. We have locked out all the Normandy's systems, until further notice you are grounded" stated Udina

"You are all insane, after everything I have done for the Council you still refuse to believe me?" questioned Shepard with a face displaying her disbelief

"It is time for you to leave, Commander. This is no longer any of your concern, and the council will be able to handle it from here on, with my help of course" said Udina with his usual superior sneer

Shepard threw her arms up in anger, then turned and stormed out of the council chambers leaving a rather angry Echo behind.

Of course Echo rounded on the council instantly.

"You three have better hope this doesn't turn bad, because I swear if even _one person_ from the Normandy is lost because of your stupidity..." began Echo

"You'll do what Mr. Echo? You have no authority here, if you remember" said Udina believing his own words

"It's simple really…" Echo's gaze first landed on the Turian councilor, making him flinch "Sparatus, I'll break your neck and then I'll rip off your fringe and use that to decapitate Tevos" here Tevos gulped loudly, and grabbed her neck unconsciously "then I will use her severed head to choke Valern." The Salarian Councilor looked ready to hurl… alas it did not happen "Then finally I'll come for you _Ambassador_, and when I do… well let us leave that a surprise" finished Echo before turning and walking out of the council chambers after Shepard, leaving a stunned and terrified Council behind.

"Bah, empty threats" stated Udina

The three councilors looked at him like he was an idiot, an opinion they in fact all shared.

"I can assure you Ambassador, those weren't empty threats" stated Tevos

"Spirits help us…" muttered Sparatus as he stepped away from the council stand, and began heading towards his private chambers.

Tevos and Valern could only agree in silence.

Outside Echo was catching up with a livid Shepard, who was cursing and growling at anyone getting just a little too close.

"Shepard" called Marc

Shepard spun around, an angry mien on her face.

"Can you believe them, those… those… urgh!" cried Shepard

"Calm down Shepard" suggested Marc

"C-Calm down?! Those bastards put us on lockdown, what the hell will calming down do?!" she yelled in response

"Well it might help you realize that we aren't stuck, also it might make you realize that the solution to your problem is walking up behind you"

"What?"

Shepard spun around to see Anderson approaching, a rather annoyed look on his face.

"Shepard… I might have something, meet me down in Flux in two hours" said Anderson in a low tone as he passed by, he kept walking to make it seem like nothing more than a casual greeting

Once he was far enough away, Shepard turned towards Marc with a pensive expression

"You knew he would have a plan to stop the lockdown?" she asked

"No, but I had my suspicions that he wouldn't let it pass by quietly" replied Marc

"So what are we going to do while we wait?"

"_I_ am going to go talk with Karick, _You_ are going to go find Ashley, Liara and Tali and then use these two hours to calm the hell down"

"Alright, I'll see you at Flux in two hours?"

"Count on it, sound the alarm if something goes wrong"

Shepard gave a nod in confirmation, and began making her way towards the Presidium shopping area. Marc himself gave a low sigh, before turning and began heading off towards a closed off part of the Presidium, somewhere he could speak with Karick without risking getting overheard.

"Eva, contact Karick for me" ordered Marc as he continued his walk

"_Establishing Contact… … … … Secure Connection Found… … … … Contact Established_"

"_Once more within the week my friend? You spoil me_" came Karick's voice

"Stow the humor, we have hit a snag and we need to speak. I'm heading towards the back alley behind the Consorts chambers" said Marc

"_Understood, I'll be there in a few moments_" replied Karick and cut the connection

Nodding to himself, Marc continued on his way and soon found himself standing in the secluded alley. The Consort had, thankfully, secured this particular alley so that her more trusted friends had a place for private meetings.

A good five minutes later Karick stepped into the alley, and greeted his old friend.

"So what is the trouble?" asked Karick after the two had shaken hands

"The Normandy has been put on lockdown, it will be resolved soon but that also means something else. Once we depart for Ilos… well it won't be more than a day before Saren and Sovereign comes knocking, I'm sad to say my friend that that means you only have another 24 hours to find the object" replied Marc

"Damn… I see the trouble, during the attack we won't have time to look for it and the chance of getting destroyed is simply too big… got any suggestions?"

Marc shook his head "Sadly no, all I can say is to focus it around areas that would make sense, other than that we can only hope for a stroke of luck"

"Very well… then what of this planet, Ilos, are you going to be okay there?"

"We'll be fine, we will come through the conduit and then all hell breaks loose… but on the bright side all of this will be over in the next 48 hours"

"*Chuckle* Yes that is certainly a comfort… you have given me a clock my friend, excuse me for leaving but I intend to beat it"

"Of course my friend… Just one more thing…"

"Yes?"

"Can you remember how long it has been, since we fought side by side?"

Karick blinked a few times, before his head swung back and a roar of laughter escaped him. His laughter continued as he departed the alley, images of destruction flying through his mind… The Bloody Echo fighting side by side with the Stalker once again… he could feel his blood burn at the thought.

Echo left the alley moments later, he was going to head down towards Flux and wait around, he didn't have anything to do now that he had warned Karick.

Flux was a much nicer place than Chora's Den, that much was certain. Though Echo couldn't help but feel bored, these sorts of "fancy bars" wasn't really his scene. Even among the Tenno a party without a fight would be considered a dull affair, though deaths were usually frowned upon.

The rest of the time passed by in silence, Echo was just observing the people around him. It was a bit of a trip really, standing here and watching them. He knew full well that before tomorrow was over, this place would be completely destroyed and many of these people dead.

"Marc"

He turned and faced Shepard as she approached; he gave a nod and a smile before turning and following her into Flux.

They found Anderson sitting by himself, nursing a small drink and looking every bit the troubled Captain they both knew.

"Well you look well, David" quipped Shepard as she and Echo sat down

"This is wrong Shepard, you should be on your way to Ilos right now… not sitting stuck here while we wait for Saren to come and break down the door" replied Anderson

"I agree with you completely David, but there is the small problem of the Normandy. She is the only ship that can get me into the Terminus undetected, and currently she is on lock down… unless you have a fix for that?" inquired Shepard

"It's quite simple really, Citadel Control might have locked down the Normandy's systems, but if we can override the Ambassador's orders, we can make them bring the Normandy back online. You'll be in the Terminus Systems before anyone know what's going on" said Anderson

"Anderson, if we leave with the Normandy you are the one left to take the blame…" tried Echo

"Yes, yes, and if Saren gets the conduit, life as we know it will be over. Human, Asari, Turian, it won't matter to the Reapers, they will destroy us all. So I'll do everything in my power to get Shepard and the rest of you off this station, and heading towards Ilos" interrupted Anderson

"I won't forget this Anderson, if you ever need something in the future then come find me" said Echo

"Thank you. Now I can unlock the Normandy from one of the consoles in Citadel Control, which should give you a few minutes before anyone knows what's going on" suggested Anderson

"No way, Citadel Control is heavily defended. No way are you getting through there, not without ensuring your execution if you are caught. There must be another way" replied Shepard

"Well… Udina was the one who issued the order, if I could hack into the computer in his office… then there would be a slight chance that I could override it" said Anderson

"And what if Udina is in there, then what?" asked Shepard

"I'll just have to hope he isn't there, and if he is I will think of something" replied Anderson

"*Sigh* I would rather you deal with Udina, than a squad of heavily armored guards…" stated Shepard

Anderson smiled a small smile at that "I was hoping you would say that, Udina made this personal… so what do you say Shepard, are you ready to get the hell off this station?"

"Good luck David, I'll see you once this is all over" said Shepard as her answer

"You too Shepard, go bring that bastard down" replied Anderson with a smile

Shepard turned to leave but Echo remained, and stood staring at Anderson for a moment before he pulled something out of his leg compartment, and threw it to Anderson who caught it.

"What's this?" he asked

"That, Anderson, is a special hacking device. It should get you into Udina's computer almost instantly… and do me a favor if he is there" replied Echo

"Sure, what?"

"Punch his light's out"

Echo left to the sound of Andersons laughter, a small smile gracing his lips. He then caught up with Shepard as they made their way back to the Normandy, along the way they recalled everyone back to the ship.

It was somewhat of a challenge, making it look like they weren't rushing like hell back to the Normandy. By some twisted miracle everyone made it back to the ship, now they just needed to wait for Anderson and then they would be off.

Once everyone inside a dead silence fell over the ship, everyone was holding their breath and standing ready. Echo could almost hear the cracking of Udina's jaw, moments before the entire Normandy sprung to life.

"Get us out of here Joker, now!" yelled Shepard

Joker wasted no time, disengaging from the dock and turning the entire Normandy around, soon they were so far from the Citadel that it would be too late to stop them.

Once they were far enough away, Shepard stepped up and opened the com to the entire ship.

"Everyone… I can't thank you enough for sticking with me through this, at this moment we are heading out to deal with Saren once and for all… This is my potential last order to you as your Commander, be happy and enjoy these precious few hours before Ilos. We might not get anymore, gods speed everyone… let's give him hell"

The silence that followed the short speech was bitter sweet, but everyone took the words to heart. Looks were exchanged between many crew members, friends gathered around the tables, lovers retreated to smaller private areas and everyone else gathered in the mess hall for one final dinner together as a crew.

It was no different for the ground team. Wrex took these final moments to sit down in the armory, looking over images on his Omni-tool from back on Tuchanka. Garrus had finally gathered up his courage, and went to speak with Tali. Ashley was heading towards Liara's room once more. Kaidan had joined the crew in the cafeteria.

Then there was Shepard and Marc, they had retreated to Shepards quarters. Realizing that his plans might not go as he intended, well Marc wanted to say his words… just in case.

"So this is it huh?" began Shepard with a sad smile on her face, as she sat down in the sofa

"This is what it has all been building towards" added Marc as he sat down next to her

"*Chuckle* You know sitting here, it is almost funny… the way we met" Shepard said as she leaned into Marc's embrace

"*Snort* Yeah, me threatening to kill Tali… great first impression" replied Marc as he leaned his head against hers

"Come on, you would never have hurt her"

"Of course not, but that doesn't change that she was afraid of me for the first few weeks"

"But hey, it all worked out didn't it?"

"Yes, yes it did… somehow here at the end; everyone seems to be getting along"

"*Chuckle* Even you and Kaidan"

"The Lieutenant and I made peace, perhaps it was simply time… or maybe, just maybe we finally found something we agree on"

"*Sigh* I can't wait for this to be done… then maybe, we can finally live a life"

"Yeah… live…"

"You sound unsure…"

"Sarah, I love you… but I'm still scared I'm going to lose you. I think every man is scared of losing the woman he loves… but…"

"But not every man is together with someone that repeatedly puts her life in danger"

"Exactly… you know yourself what it's like to think you lost someone"

"Don't worry about being afraid, the truth is I'm scared as well… you remember I told you my father disappeared?"

"Yes I remember"

"In the start I didn't think like I do know… at first… at first I thought he had left me, that he had decided he didn't love me or my mother and then just left us behind…"

"And you fear I will do the same?"

"No… yes… I don't know okay? I Trust you, but some part of me just fears that you will go away one day too"

With a small sigh Marc grabbed Sarah by her shoulders and turned her to face him, making sure their eyes met so she could see the seriousness in his eyes.

"Sarah, I will never leave you. As long as you want me to stay, then I will always be here"

It was a difficult thing for Sarah to accept, she had heard those words before… her father had promised her the same thing, right before he went out for his last deployment.

Freeing herself from Marc's grip, Sarah stood up and began pacing around the room restlessly. It was just an odd thing for her, she had been in relationships before but this one was different… though she suspected the whole "Dimensional Traveler" thing had something to do with that as well.

"I know you will, but that won't change that I'm afraid. I'm always going to be afraid, if it isn't of you leaving me, then it will be the fear of you dying on a mission…"

Marc stood up, walked over and stopped Sarah mid stride.

"I won't die, I finally have something to live for again. So I need you to believe the same, I need you to believe that we are going to get through this, _together_"

"You sound like a sappy romance novel…"

"You mean like that piece of offending literature on your shelf?" he gestured behind him, to a very a specific book that looked a little dusty from its trip into the trash bin.

"*Groan* please don't mention that… I still haven't forgiven it"

"This sounds like a story I need to hear"

"… … only if you promise me one thing"

"*Chuckle* Sure, anything"

"You have to watch the movie with me…"

"I think I can do that" Marc said as he leaned down and planted a kiss atop Sarah's head

"*Sigh* Okay… remember all those weeks ago, when I found you sitting in the darkness of the mess hall?"

The two shared some good laughs over Sarah's story, then they made themselves comfortable and Sarah started the holo-vid. Marc enjoyed these moments more than he ever believed possible, but perhaps it was because he knew what was coming… but for now, this was enough.

* * *

Around the same time as Marc and Sarah spoke their words, a woman was making her way with shaky steps towards her lover.

They had spoken earlier, but for some reason this time it felt so much more… _real_. Like now was the time for her to truly empty out her heart, like if she didn't do it today… well then she wouldn't get the chance again.

As Ashley's thoughts focused more and more in Liara, she felt warmth spread through her chest and the shaking of her legs stopped… now was not the time for fear, now was the time to be bold and daring.

"Liara?" called Ashley as she stepped into the room

Ashley didn't get an answer; she didn't need one either after seeing her. Liara was sitting on her bed, a warm smile on her face and her omni-tool open. She was reading a message from her mother and grand-father, they had been informed of their "escape" and so they wanted to wish Liara the best of luck.

Ashley didn't wish to interrupt her so she removed her boots and climbed into bed, and hugged Liara from behind. She felt Liara lean into her embrace, and then the omni-tool was tilted slightly so she could read the message along with her.

_To my dearest Little Wing,_

_Tevos just informed us that the Normandy "fled" from the Citadel during a lockdown, so of course your grand-father has spent the past hour ranting about the incompetence of the Council. Because of the lockdown, mind you._

_I am writing this to wish you the best of luck, I know you are going after Saren and I hope you get him. Be careful out there little wing, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you._

_How's Gramps favorite little girl doing?_

_But in all seriousness Liara, I need you to be careful when you go after Saren. You mother is right in saying losing you would hurt us all, I already lost your grand-mother and I am not ready to lose another of my family._

_Which leads me to this next part, for which I hope Miss Williams is with you.  
This part is solely for you Miss Williams. I am holding you personally responsible for my grand-daughter, if one little freckle is out of place when I see her again you will think fighting Saren was a vacation._

_You two stay strong, stick together and you will be alright and we can't wait to see you once all of this is over. I do hope to be great-grandfather before I die, just for your information._

Ashley could feel the gentle shaking of Liara against her chest; she didn't need to see the tears to know they were there. She could only suspect how long it had been, since Liara had gotten this sort of message from her Mother.

"They love you very much" stated Ashley

"*Sniff* I-I know… I just wish that this didn't sound so much like a farewell" replied Liara as she snuggled further into Ashley's embrace

"Well… I kind of wish your grandpa didn't ask for great-grandchildren…" joked Ashley

"*Chuckle* Gramps is always like that, trying to light up the mood with jokes…"

"That didn't sound like a joke to me"

"Do you want them, kids I mean?" asked Liara as she leaned her head backwards so she could look up into Ashley's eyes.

"D-don't ask me that Li, not now… not before all of this…" replied Ashley as she tried to look away from Liara's enchanting eyes

Ashley felt a hand land on her cheek; she looked back down into a pair of misty eyes that were brimming with love.

"I want children someday… *chuckle* I even thought of changing the direction of my Archeology career, make it more of an office job… so I could look after _our_ girls"

"You make it sound like the chance of us splitting up isn't there anymore…"

"Because it _isn't_, I've made a decision Ash… I'm not letting you go; I don't care what I have to give up for us. If I have to go live on earth and work out of an office, while listening to the sound of our girls running around playing… then I can't think of a greater reward for that, but to have you walk through the door to our home every day"

Now it was Ashley's turn to feel tears stinging her eyes, they slowly began running down her cheeks as she leaned her forehead against Liara's, and slowly allowed her fear's to wash away with her tears.

"*Chuckle* I think I need to get Wrex and Echo a gift…"

"Ohh? May I ask why?"

"If it wasn't for them… well let us just say that the conversation we had on Therum, would have been a lot different… but thanks to them, I gave you a chance and look where it got me"

"Ah yes, you cleverly lured a young, innocent, Asari Scientist into bed with your wicked human ways… they most certainly deserve a gift"

"_Innocent_? Miss T'Soni if I might remind you who _initiated_ our first night together?"

"Details, details…"

"I love you"

"As I love you"

The two shared a tender kiss, and slowly the world around them vanished as all they could think of was each other. Though Liara might have accused Shepard for being noisy… well it was perhaps not completely unfair, to say that herself and Ashley weren't any better.

* * *

Garrus had been dancing around the subject for a while now, ever since Wrex had asked him about Tali he couldn't get her out of his mind.

Shepard's words had hit something deep inside him, he didn't like the idea of dying but he couldn't deny that it could happen. So why wait, as Wrex would say, he should just ask Tali out and hope for the best.

This was the entire reason that he was currently on his way down to engineering. Like so many others aboard the ship, he wasn't going to be spending these final hours alone.

Exiting the elevator, he headed straight towards Tali's little part of engineering. He saw her standing overlooking the engine; she looked to be deep in thought.

"Tali?" tried Garrus

Tali jumped a little at the new voice, but quickly calmed down when she turned around and saw Garrus approaching.

"Oh Garrus, you scared me" she said

"Sorry… You didn't feel like joining everyone else, up in the mess hall?" he asked

Tali shook her head slightly "No, I had some things to think about. You know I'm returning to the Flotilla, after we have dealt with Saren that is"

"*Sigh* I had guessed it, and I suppose that it will only make what I'm about to tell you that more difficult"

"Garrus?"

"Tali… ever since Noveria, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and these past few days I have been kicking myself over this… but then Shepard held her little speech and I realized something, I don't want to let this go unsaid"

"What are you saying Garrus, that you love me?"

"I don't know, maybe not yet… but I would love to have the chance to… that is if you would let me?"

Tali chuckled slightly, before she took two steps forward and drew Garrus into a hug. Garrus froze just for a moment, before he smiled and returned the hug.

"I think I would like that Garrus… I have to return to the Flotilla… but if you are willing to give it a try, then… then I would like to have a chance to love you as well"

Garrus had never felt like this before, he felt like he could take on the universe and still come out on top… even if he didn't he wouldn't care, as long as Tali would be there with him… then he would be okay.

The two stayed together down in engineering, just talking and laughing together. Garrus even ended up talking about his family, back home on Palavan and how he missed them. Tali talked a lot about the Flotilla, how much she missed her father and was looking forward to seeing them all again. In the end they fell asleep sitting in each other's arms against the wall, just waiting and looking forward to when this was all over.

* * *

All across the ship the crew were acting happy, games were being played, stories were being told and joy was spread. Though a somber tone always hung in the air, most everyone just did their own to keep it at bay.

These were the precious moments, this was the calm before the storm and there was not a soul aboard the Normandy that didn't think the same.

If they had to go out, then by the gods themselves they were going out with a bang!

* * *

**A/N: I don't know what to say people… chapter 17 is done and now I have one big announcement to make.**

**Chapter 18, titled "The Endgame" will be the final chapter of Mass Effect: Dimensional Rift. **

**This chapter will be of an undetermined length, as I will be ending the story in chapter 18 I will write until it is finished. This means that the chapter could be 13.000 words, or 30.000 words, it all depends on how much it will take for me to be happy with the last arc of everything. (This also means the release date is highly suspect to change at every moment)**

**This story has been underway for a good while now; it has even seen a rewrite from its original form. I cannot thank you enough for having stuck with me for this long, so I beg all of you to stick with me for just a little bit longer… so that I may give you a proper farewell, and hopefully an ending you will all be happy with.**

**Stay happy everyone, I'll look forward to seeing you all one last time!**

**-BundleJumper**

**PS: As usual everything that has to do with any Medical or Technical aspect, i have no actual knowledge of as i am not a trained Medic, Doctor or Nurse of any kind. So my knowledge of medical procedures and the build up of a human is very limited.**


	18. Chapter 18 -The End-

**Approaching Ilos.  
Aboard the Normandy**

The tension in the air was thick; all the merriment from the past few hours had ebbed away. Now everyone was waiting, watching and hoping… Ilos was in sight, and it would not be more than a minute before they had geth contact.

Everyone was on highest alert, for some of the crew it was the first time they had ever seen some of the ground team act like this. Wrex seemed almost twitchy; he was standing around the Mako with this odd glint in his eyes. Kaidan was sitting by his workbench, but wasn't actually doing any work.

Ashley and Liara were down in the armory as well; both were looking over their armor and weapons. Garrus and Tali had remained down in engineering, but those that passed by would note the dangerous expression on Garrus face.

Finally there was Echo, he had remained with Shepard and they were both currently standing behind Joker. Though there was this odd thing about him, he usually felt unapproachable by many but now? Now they all feared for their lives when they looked at him, like he was always right about to turn on all of them.

"You are scaring the crew" said Shepard with a smile

"Just keeping them on their toes" replied Marc, though with a notably smaller smile

"No, no you are scaring them… myself included" muttered Joker from the pilot seat

Shepard chuckled at Marc's sour expression, though she quickly forced her focus back out towards Ilos. The geth were visible now, but the question remained if they would discover them. They had their stealth drive engaged, but that wouldn't help much if they just looked out the windows… did geth ships have windows?

"We should be fine as long as they don't make visual contact" stated Joker

"Just take us in Joker, get us as close to him as you can" replied Shepard

With a nod Joker began leading them in. As they broke through the skies they suddenly realized something, this place didn't exactly have a lot of areas to land.

"Commander, the nearest landing site is 2 klicks away, there is no way we can get close enough" said Pressley from the side

"There has to be somewhere closer" grumbled Ashley from the side

"There is nowhere closer, I have looked!" replied Pressley hotly

"Drop us in the Mako" ordered Echo

"That's impossible, you would need at least 50 meters of clear terrain, the most I can find near Saren is twenty" argued Pressley

Shepard was rubbing her eyes tiredly, they hadn't even landed on Ilos and they were already facing these problems.

"I can do it" announced Joker

"Don't be foolish Monroe, there is no way to make that drop" stated Pressley

"I can do it" repeated Joker

Echo walked forward and placed his hand on Joker's shoulder

"Let's see the Alliance best flying" he said before turning and walking down towards the Mako, leaving a smiling and nodding Joker behind

"Commander?!" argued Pressley

"He's right, Pressley. I know you can do it Joker, drop us right on top of that Turian bastard" stated Shepard before turning and following Echo

Pressley muttered something and then returned to his console. Joker steeled himself further, he did not intend to mess this up… too much was riding on him for this, no more jokes.

Down in the hangar the entire ground team had assembled, no one was being left behind for this. Everyone was tense but they couldn't board the Mako, not just yet at least.

Garrus popped his head out from under the Mako, a spot of oil staining his left fringe.

"Alright I've adjusted the suspension, we should be able to take the impact now, but no high flying stunts with the jets. Once they have absorbed the initial impact… well they won't be good for much else" he stated as he stood up and accepted the cloth from Tali

"Is everyone ready for this?" asked Shepard

"This is not going to be easy…" muttered Liara

"No one ever said it was, but we have stood against worse odds and come out of even worse situations. We'll come out of this as well" replied Shepard with a smile

"Once we are planet side we need to be ready for anything, Saren knows we are coming so odds are good that we will be facing more than a few geth" announced Echo

"As Echo said. I want the team to move in formation, Echo and Wrex I want you two at the front for this" the two nodded "Liara and Kaidan I need you to two in the middle where you can provide Biotic support to both ends of the formation" the two Biotics nodded in confirmation

"Garrus you will be making up the rear with me, and finally Tali, I want you to remain between Liara and Kaidan. From there you can dish out any sort of disruption towards the geth in both ends" the last two nodded in consent as well

"_Approaching the drop Shepard, get ready_" announced Joker of the com

"Everyone in" ordered Shepard

The entire team crammed themselves into the Mako, it was quite the tight fit but everyone would be needed for this. Shepard of course took the driver's seat once more, with Echo taking up his seat next to her as the Navigator, Garrus jumped into the gun and everyone else sat with weapons out.

"_Drop in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…_"

There was a dead silence inside the Mako as they dropped, everyone was holding their breath and preparing for the chance that they had to come bursting out of the Mako.

Down on the planet Saren was already moving into the bunker, though quickly looking behind he saw the Normandy flying towards them and a strange smile spread across his face.

'_Good, good, we are on schedule'_ he thought as he directed two geth to hurry up through the closing gate.

The gate slammed shut just as the Mako slammed into the ground, causing the entire ground team to let out a silent curse.

"God fucking damnit!" Well… all but Shepard at least.

"Calm down Shepard, let's go investigate" stated Echo

The team carefully filed out of the Mako and looked over the gate; it was shut tighter than a politician's ass when being asked for funds.

"There has to be a manual override somewhere" suggested Liara

"Okay everyone, into formation!" yelled Shepard

The team quickly stepped into formation and began advancing away from the door, though they didn't make it much past the Mako before Echo turned and yelled "geth!" and got behind the large plant life for cover.

Everyone quickly followed and a short firefight ensued. With the combined Biotics of Liara, Kaidan and Wrex the group of geth hiding behind the natural cover of Ilos, were soon brought out and were floating around. Easy pickings for Garrus and Shepard, whom were both sporting Snipers for this mission.

"They are here in force, that could leave one wondering how many are going to attack the Citadel" mused Ashley

"None if we can help it" replied Shepard

The group fell back into formation and continued their advance. Occasionally they had to throw themselves to sides, as the geth seemed to have set up various chokepoints throughout the entire area. After another group was finally taken care of, the group found themselves in front of an elevator.

"This probably leads to the Command center, hopefully we can unlock the gate from here" stated Liara

"*Sigh* Everyone be ready… two thousand geth incoming" mumbled Echo in annoyance

A relaxed chuckle ran through the group, it took the edge off the tension, which was only good.

The elevator doors opened and slowly the team moved out, at first there was nothing and then a little certain something flew past Garrus' head, almost knocking him over.

"Rocket Launcher!" roared Wrex

Liara just barely managed to throw up a barrier in front of them, intercepting the next missile that came flying.

"I see Krogan!" yelled Ashley

"Now would be a good time to change, Echo!" yelled Kaidan as he began support Liara's barrier with his own

Echo ran every Warframe he had through his head, trying to determine which would be best suited for the rest of the fighting. They were going to need something that could suck up a lot of bullets, he really only had one Warframe available that fit those criteria.

"Engage Warframe: Rhino" ordered Echo

The plates on the Alpha-Frame shifted and turned, soon the Neutral form had bled away and in its place stood the Rhino. Now the team had never seen the Rhino, and they were all quietly thinking the same thing… _huge_.

"Well… Shepard did say that Wrex and Echo should make up the frontline…" joked Garrus

"Wrex, with me" ordered Echo as he moved to the edge of the barrier

Wrex went up and stood beside him, with his shotgun drawn and at the ready. Echo himself withdrew his Tigris and waited for a short second.

"Drop the barrier" he ordered

Liara and Kaidan released their hold on the barrier, finally being able to rest slightly. Echo and Wrex charged out into the fray, dodging rockets and rifle fire as they moved.

With the combined might of the Rhino's toughness and Wrex's biotics, the two frontline soldiers had soon paved a way for the rest of the team.

As the rest of the team slowly advanced forward, Echo and Wrex did their best to hold the line where they stood. However, that took a turn for the worse as Echo looked to the back of the geth…

"Oh shit… PRIME!" roared Echo at the top of his lungs as he dived for cover

The large geth began blasting moments later, its heavy assault rifle drilling through the aged stones of the ruins. Soon enough Echo would be without cover, if someone did not blow that damn geth apart.

"Garrus, Tali, Overload!" yelled Shepard as she lined up a shot

The two techs quickly got their omni-tools running; they gave a nod to one another as their charges were ready. With a combined yell of "Firing!" they unleashed their Overloads on the geth Prime, utterly obliterating its shields.

With a loud *Bang* Shepard placed a bullet right through the flashlight of the large geth, sending it crashing to the ground, luckily it landed on top of a smaller geth standing in front of it.

"Two with one bullet, nice shot!" yelled Echo as he stood up and began returning fire

"It's all in the squeeze!" yelled Shepard back as she switched over to her assault rifle and joined the front

The fight continued with geth seemingly pouring out of nowhere, Echo had been forced to switch over to the Assault Rifle he had acquired on Virmire or risk running out of ammo for the Tigris.

Garrus managed to drop a few geth with some well-placed shots, and some help in form of Tali nailing Overloads left and right. Kaidan and Liara were almost out of energy, they had been throwing up Barriers left and right to protect the team whenever the geth seemed to get reinforcements.

Thankfully the number of geth finally began _diminishing_, and remained down. Eventually the fight ended with Wrex blowing apart the final Krogan with one well-placed shotgun blast.

Liara then sunk to the ground with a sigh; Ashley was at her side instantly.

"Thank the Goddess that is over…" she mumbled

Kaidan could only nod in agreement, as he pulled out a protein bar and began eating; he too slumped to the ground and leaned against a still intact rock.

"Anyone detect any geth nearby?" asked Shepard

Echo looked around carefully, Eva wasn't picking anything up and he himself couldn't see anything.

"I think we are clear for now, the rest must have retreated to protect the bunker" he stated

"Thank god… Liara, Kaidan, you two rest for now, Ash you stay with them. The rest of us will go ahead and see if we can unlock the bunker" stated Shepard

A chorus of confirmation sounded and soon most of the team was heading up into the building, hoping to find the controls so they could finally get into that bunker.

Once up there everyone began looking over the consoles, none of them seemed to work with the exception of one. Thankfully that turned out to be the security control, and with Shepard's understanding of Prothean they managed to unlock the bunker's security.

"Let's get out of here, Saren already has enough of a head start" stated Garrus

Everyone turned to leave, but right before they could one of the consoles flared to life and what looked like a scrambled hologram appeared and began speaking gibberish… well at least to everyone but Shepard.

"—_too late [static]… unable to [static]… invading fleets [static]… no escape [static]"_

Everyone looked on in curiosity, they realized that it was Prothean it was speaking so of course they didn't understand it, but they hoped Shepard did.

"It is some kind of warning… a warning against the Reaper invasion" said Shepard

"A little late someone heard it…" mumbled Garrus

"… _[static] –ot safe… [static] seek refuge… [static] –side the archives… [static]…_" continued the Hologram

"Anything useful, Shepard?" asked Echo

"—_alled Reapers… [static] the Citadel… [static] overwhelmed… [static] only hope… [static]… act of desperation… [static] the Conduit… [static] all is lost… [static]_" continued the Hologram

"It's something about the Conduit… but it is way too broken up for me to make out anything useful, let's go people we don't have time to waste on figuring this out" stated Shepard as she began leading the team back down to the rest.

"We ready to go?" asked Shepard once they had reached Liara, Ash and Kaidan

"We should be fine for a while, let's just hope there isn't a fight like that again within the next ten minutes" said Kaidan

"Noted, let's get back topside people" ordered Shepard

Everyone filed into the elevator and rode it back up, once they reached the top everyone was thankful that there wasn't a geth ambush waiting for them. So they had clear passage to the Mako and to their delight the bunker opened.

"Okay everyone in the Mako, we don't have a moment to waste" ordered Shepard as she herself climbed into the vehicle

Everyone boarded and soon they were moving down through the bunker. Everyone was watching awe at the walls, they were lined with what Liara through was stasis pods but she wasn't sure… though she was quite taken in by it all and had to be gently reminded by Ashley that they were here for Saren.

"What's on your mind?" asked Shepard as she saw how Echo was looking

"Something just feels off, I don't know what it is but I keep having this sense that something is wrong… just ignore it, I'm probably just getting paranoid" replied Echo

"No, no you aren't… I feel it too, I just hope we are wrong" added Shepard

Silence befell the Mako once more as they continued through this endless hall; they encountered a very minor battalion of geth that didn't last long against the Mako's cannon. Shepard and Echo both saw the wall of light off in the distance, though only Echo knew what the reason behind it was.

As the Mako rolled up to the wall of light, another one sprung to life behind them, trapping them between the two.

"Shit, Saren must have set up an Ambush!" yelled Wrex as he began making his way out of the Mako

Echo jumped out of the passenger window and moved to stop Wrex, before he began shooting randomly.

"It's not Saren… look around Wrex, there isn't a geth in sight… I think it's something else" stated Echo

Wrex nodded in confirmation and looked around; sure enough, there was no geth in sight.

Everyone else filed out of the Mako and looked around, there didn't seem to be a control panel or anything of the sort relating to the two Walls of light.

Echo was looking for the entrance to the elevator he knew was here, but it was surprisingly hard to find behind all these vines growing everywhere. Though he finally found it when he pushed a large vine out of the way, revealing the entrance to the elevator.

"Shepard, I found an elevator!" he yelled out

Shepard came over and gave it a look; this was much smaller than the other one so she wouldn't be able to bring the entire team down there.

"Echo, Liara, you two are with me. Let's go see what is down there, everyone else be on your guard" ordered Shepard

The three then stepped into the elevator and began heading down. It was quite silent in the elevator; they all felt the same sense of foreboding, though they didn't know how to voice it.

Once they stepped off there wasn't much to see, only the pathway leading forward slightly to a terminal. They approached and sure enough another hologram sprung to life, this one looked just as mashed up as the other.

"_You are not Prothean, but you are not Machine either. This eventuality was one of many that were anticipated. This is why we sent our warning through the beacons_" said the Hologram

"It seems like a VI program, but how could it still be functioning after all this time?" mused Liara

"_I do not sense the taint of Indoctrination upon you, unlike the other who passed through recently. Perhaps there is still hope_" continued the Hologram

"This is incredible, a functioning Prothean VI and I can understand it!" exclaimed Liara excitedly

"_I have been monitoring your communications since you arrived at this facility. I have translated my output into a format you can understand. My name is Vigil; you are safe here, for the moment. That is likely to change… soon nowhere will be safe_" said Vigil

Echo stepped forward and stared at the broken up image, he had hoped that Vigil would have enough power to take on the physical image of Prothean.

"Are you an Artificial Intelligence program, or simply a VI?" he asked

"_I am an advanced non-organic analysis system with personality imprints from Ksad Ishan, chief overseer of the Ilos research facility. It is a pleasure to meet you, Light-Bringer_" stated Vigil

Shepard and Liara looked a little confused at Echo; they didn't recognize the name that Vigil called him by.

"So you are like Honor, I take it? Capable of sensing what lies hidden in my DNA?" asked Echo

"_Yes. You have met Honor, that is good. Then the message is delivered and hope yet remains_" replied Vigil

"Echo, care to fill us in?" asked Shepard

"Remember back on Feros, I fell into the ruins below the towers. Down there I encountered a Prothean Beacon, this didn't contain a warning but rather a message for someone like me" replied Echo

Shepard caught on to what he meant by "someone like me" and figured it had to do with the dimensional traveling, so she quietly nodded and didn't dig any further as he didn't wish to risk Liara figuring it out.

"Why did you bring me here, Vigil?" asked Shepard

"_I brought you here so that you could break the cycle, a cycle that has continued for millions of years. But to stop it, you must first understand or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilization and the heart of your government, as it was with us. Just like with every civilization that came before us. _

_But the station is a trap; it is actually an enormous Mass Relay. One that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the galaxy's horizon, when the Citadel Relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through and all you know will be destroyed_" responded Vigil

"Oh no… if Saren manages to active it… then the Reapers will wipe out the entire Citadel Fleet in a single surprise attack" said Shepard in alarm

"_Correct. That was our fate; our leaders were destroyed before we knew what had happened. Then the Reapers seized control of the Citadel and through it, the mass relays. They crippled the communication and transportation across our empire. Each stay system was isolated, cut off from the others… easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decade the Reapers systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out_" continued Vigil

"How come no one noticed that the Citadel was a huge inactivated relay?" asked Liara

"_The Reapers are careful to guard their greatest secret, which is why they created a race of seemingly benign organics to maintain it. The Keepers maintain the stations most basic functions, and in turn allow any new races that discover it to use it without fully understanding its true capabilities. With the races reliance on the Keepers no one will discover the Citadel's true purpose until it is too late, and the Reapers invade_" answered Vigil

"Shit… we need to get to the Citadel, we can't let this happen again" said Shepard

"But how did they manage to overwhelm your entire empire without some sort of warning going out? You said they cut off your communications but there must have been something you could do, from my research I understood that your empire spanned almost the entire galaxy?" asked Liara

"_Through the Citadel the Reapers had access to all our records, maps, and census data. Information is power and the Reapers knew everything about us. Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their populations enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents for the Reapers. Taken in as refuges by other Protheans, they betrayed them to the machines. Within a few centuries the Reapers had killed or enslaved every Prothean in the galaxy. They were relentless, brutal and absolutely thorough._" Replied Vigil

"But… then where did they go afterwards? Did they retreat to dark space?" asked Shepard

"_Yes, but not until they had stripped our worlds bare. Their indoctrinated servants took everything, resources, technology… nothing was left behind. Then they departed for Dark space and sealed the Citadel Relay behind them. All evidence of the Reaper invasion had been wiped away. Only their indoctrinated servants slaves were left behind, abandoned. Mindless husks no longer capable of independent thought, the indoctrinated starved and soon died from exposure. The genocide of the Protheans were complete_" responded Vigil

Shepard was shaking her head, this was simply too much. She was a damn soldier not some savior of the galaxy, and yet that seemed to be exactly what Vigil was trying to turn her into.

She looked over at Echo and even through the mask she saw his displeasure, as if the news was even more frustrating to him than her.

Of course Liara looked a mixture of excited and worried. She had been studying the Protheans her entire life, so talking to a VI like this must be terribly exciting but that didn't change what they were told, so of course she too would become extremely worried.

"Thoughts?" tried Shepard

"I'm too old for this shit" grumbled Echo

"Incredible… we just learned the true end to the Prothean race" said Liara

"Vigil… *sigh* You said you brought Shepard down here for a reason, what do you want her to do?" asked Echo

"_The Conduit is the key. Before the Reapers attacked, we Protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries behind the relay technology. Ilos was a top secret facility. Here, the researchers worked to create a small-scale version of a mass relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel; the central of the relay network._" Replied Vigil

"Incredible, you created a backdoor into the Citadel itself" muttered Liara

"_We severed all communication with the outside and our facility went dark. The Personnel retreated underground into the archives. To conserve resources, everyone was put into cryogenic stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility and wake the staff when the danger had passed. But the genocide of an entire species is a long, slow process. Years passed, decades, centuries, the Reapers persisted. And my energy reserves were dwindling_" continued Vigil

"You hid from them… a sensible choice given your circumstances" interjected Echo

"Bullshit, they should have fought" grumbled Shepard

"_How? We were but a few hundred against the might of an entire invasion fleet. We had only one hope, and that was to remain undetected. I began disabling the life support of none-essential personnel. First support staff, then security. One by one, their pods were disabled to conserve energy. Eventually only the stasis pods with the top scientist remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the Reapers retreated back through the Citadel relay._" continued Vigil

"B-But there was hundreds of stasis pods out there! You just shut them down? You killed them?" mumbled Liara

"_I found no joy in their deaths. But this outcome was not completely unforeseen. My actions were a result of a contingency programming entered on my creation_" continued Vigil

"You did what was necessary to ensure you could complete your programming, Honor was the same, as he had rerouted power from plenty of other things to remain active" said Echo

"_Thank you Light-Bringer. I saved key personnel. When the Reapers retreated, the top researches were still alive. My actions are the only reason any hope remains. When the researchers awoke they realized that the Prothean race was doomed, they were too few to sustain a population. Yet they vowed to find some way to stop the Reapers from returning. A way to break the cycle, and they knew the Keepers were the key_" said Vigil

"But wait… the Keepers are under the Reapers control, aren't they?" asked Liara

"_The Keepers are under the control of the Citadel itself. Before each invasion the Reapers send a signal through the Keepers, compelling them to activate the relay. The researches, after decades of feverish study, discovered a way to alternate this signal. So by using the Conduit they went to the Citadel and altered the signal. So this time when Sovereign sent the signal, the keepers ignored it and so the Reapers are trapped in dark space_" replied Vigil

"And of course Saren can use the Conduit to bypass all the Citadel's defenses… great" grumbled Shepard

"_Correct. Once inside, Saren can transfer control of the station to Sovereign. Sovereign will then override the Citadel's systems and manually open the Relay. And so the cycle of extension will begin again_" said Vigil

"Then we stop them. No way are we letting that happen, not again" stated Echo

"_Good. There is a data file in my console, take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel's master control unit, upload it to the station. It will corrupt the Citadel's security protocols and give you temporary control over the station. It might give you the chance you need against Sovereign_" replied Vigil

"Citadel master control unit? Where is it located, because I have never heard of it" stated Liara in confusion

"_I cannot tell you. Follow Saren through the Conduit, he will lead you to your destination_" stated Vigil before he began shimmering

"You did well in holding out this long, Vigil… go join your Prothean brothers and may you find peace in your final rest" stated Echo as he knelt down in front of the dying hologram

"_Light-Bringer, I hope you see your home once more… and thank you_" with those words Vigil's hologram vanished and the console spit out a small data-disk containing the file they needed

"What the hell was that about?" asked Shepard as Echo retrieved the data-disk

"Giving the last rites to a warrior who completed his task, and paid with his life for it" replied Echo in a quiet tone as he handed her the data-disk and walked towards the elevator

"*sigh* Saren has enough of a head start… let's go get him before this goes completely sour" grumbled Shepard as she and Liara stepped into the elevator as well.

The elevator ride was taken in silence. Once they reached the top everyone was there to greet them, of course everyone wanted to know what was happening but they were only told to get in the Mako. Shepard would brief them later, but right now they needed to get Saren.

The Mako was barreling down the bunker, there wasn't an end in sight but they had passed a few more geth on the way her. Something was definently wrong, there was far too few geth here so that could only mean that the majority of the Army was already attacking the Citadel… they just hoped they weren't too late.

"Holy shit! What the hell is that?!" yelled Garrus as they turned a corner

"that" would be one of the largest geth Colossus that they had ever seen, this thing was at least double the height of the Mako… probably double the firepower as well, but better not tell Garrus that.

"Ignore it" ordered Echo

"Are you insane!?" yelled Garrus

"It's large, but slow, it won't be able to stop us from passing and try looking over there, it isn't even standing in the way" replied Echo as he pointed towards the large opening, opposite of the Colossus

"Oh… that's true" mumbled Shepard as she hit the gas and turned towards the opening.

As they barreled past the Colossus, Garrus was looking back using the cannon, a confused expression on his face. He ducked out slightly from the cannon and looked towards Echo.

"So… what do you think that Colossus was about?" he asked

"*Shrug* Who knows, I tend to just ignore any sound reason behind enemies being out of place, when it benefits me that they somehow got their orders screwed up" replied Echo

"Amen to that" said Kaidan/Ashley/Shepard together

They kept going until they saw something off in the distance, it looked like a miniature relay.

"Guess that is the Conduit" said Shepard

"Yep, floor it. From the look of things it is closing soon, wouldn't want to miss it" joked Echo

The Mako was almost flying when the hit the last downward slope towards the Conduit, even more so when they saw the four colossi waiting for them at the bottom.

Gritting her teeth, Shepard pushed the Mako further than she ever had before and almost forced it to go faster.

They managed to dodge the initial shots but the next set would be from a much closer range, they would need some kind of speed boost the make it to the Conduit in time.

"Garrus, fire the cannon backwards!" yelled Shepard

Garrus understood immediately and turned the cannon tower around and began firing as fast as he could. The violent recoil propelled the Mako forward; thankfully it seemed to be enough because they were only a few feet from the Conduit now… just a little further.

"I hope you all have strong stomachs…" muttered Echo just a second before they hit the Conduit.

"What do you mean by…"

And with a pop they were gone.

**The Citadel, somewhere in the Presidium**

A few geth were patrolling this destroyed area, they were looking for potential survivors though the odds were low. The Conduit was humming right behind them; the large receiver for the small relay had been cleverly hidden inside a statue on the Presidium.

One of them looked over towards the large machine, just in time to see it begin spinning wildly. A moment later the geth had its flashlight head completely smashed as a Mako decided it would make an excellent parking spot.

The Mako rolled a few times as it crash landed on the sidewalk of the Presidium, the trip through the Conduit hadn't been a pleasant one.

"Urgh… anyone got the number on that Cruiser that hit me?" mumbled Garrus as he got his bearings

"Damage report…" grumbled Shepard from the driver's seat

"Shit… we're good back here Shepard" called Ashley for herself and Liara

"I feel like hurling but aside from that… I'm peachy" announced Kaidan

"Bah… I'm fine" said Wrex

"No suit breeches so I'm good" stated Tali

"Aside from my bruised pride, everything is good" finished Garrus

"Echo?" asked Shepard

"… I really am getting too old for this shit" was his response as he released the seatbelt that kept him hanging upside down

The Mako had toppled over so getting out of it became a bit of challenge, and a bit of a joke as the team watched Wrex trying to squeeze his large body through the squeezed hatch.

"Well… looking up I think it's quite clear where we need to go" joked Garrus as he pointed upwards toward Sovereign hanging on the Citadel Tower

"We should be able to take the elevator, though we won't all be able to squeeze in there…" said Ashley

"Some of us are going to have to take the long way around, fighting up through the tower" stated Shepard

Echo heard a small ping inside his helmet, signaling an incoming transmission. He stepped off to the side so he was out of earshot before picking it up.

"Echo responding" he said

"_It's Karick, shit really hit the fan my friend. Most of my team has been in combat since that hulking squid appeared, please tell me you are going to fix this?_" came Karick's voice

"We're working on it, in a few moments we will begin ascending the tower to deal with Saren. I suggest meeting up with us here if you can" said Echo

"_Already on my way, most of my team seemed to think we could fix everything from there anyway. Once we meet up I have something to tell you about our missing object_" replied Karick

"Am I going to like what I hear?"

"_Don't know, I guess it all depends on whatever we are all alive by then. My team will split up once we hit the tower, more chance of finding you guys. Karick out_"

The com went dead and Echo made his way back to the team, managing to catch Shepard standing off to the side with Ashley and Liara.

"I take it a decision was made?" he asked

"Ash and Liara are going with me in the elevator; the rest of you will be fighting through the tower. If we can we will open some passages along the way but don't count on it" responded Shepard

"Good, I just talked with Karick. He is bringing his entire team for the fight; they are splitting up when they hit the Tower. So everyone needs to be prepared for a sudden set of reinforcements" said Echo

"Okay everyone, the first team to reach the Chambers will make contact with the rest. No one goes off to play hero and try and take down Saren, we can't risk this going wrong now" ordered Shepard

Nods were seen all around as Shepard, Liara and Ashley made their way into the elevator and began their ascend towards the chambers.

"Let's move out everyone, we don't have a second to waste" said Kaidan

The remaining assault team fell into line and began moving forward, the walk towards the top of the Citadel tower is a long one…

**Assault Time, ascending the Tower**

The first set of stairs weren't so bad, the second didn't really matter either… the third set was mildly annoying, the fourth set isn't there anymore, the fifth set led to swearing… right now the team would be on the

"Sixth bloody set of stairs! Holy fucking hell, who designed this royal piece of shit to only have on elevator?!" yelled Echo in frustration though he well knew the answer, his anger simply clouded the answer

"How have we passed through six floors and not seen a single geth yet?" asked Tali

A few grumbles came from the others as they stepped out on the next floor, only to have to dive back onto the staircase because of three rockets flying over their heads.

"Happy now?" mumbled Garrus as he drew his sniper

"Yeah, yeah, just start shooting Vakarian…" grumbled Tali as she charged up an Overload

"Auch… Vakarian huh? Seems you have been demoted Garrus" joked Echo as he withdrew a grenade and hurled it into the room ahead.

"I'll win back some points later, just keep firing" replied Garrus as he popped out and took down a geth

The fight was over rather quickly, it wasn't much more than the first three Rocket geth and then a handful of regular geth, not exactly something that was difficult to deal with for the now rather experienced team.

"Let's keep moving" stated Echo

A sound registered in everyone's ears and they turned towards one of the doors in the room, only to see a geth Rocket Trooper that had just fired a rocket… towards the ceiling.

*BOOM*

The explosion shook the room as the ceiling began caving in on itself.

"Shit! Dive!" yelled Kaidan

The entire team split and dived in different directions, all hoping to avoid the blast. A good set of reflexes on everyone allowed them to escape without any serious harm, some of them got a few bruises as they landed in soft spots… but hey they had gotten used to that by now.

"Everyone good?" called out Echo

"We're good back here! Just one problem!" yelled Garrus

The problem was obvious; the amount of rubble that had fallen was a bit more excessive than one would first have thought. No way, where they making a path through this quick enough, Echo looked around and saw Tali next to him, which meant that Kaidan, Wrex and Garrus were on the other side of the rubble.

"You three keep going! Me and Tali will find another way, we can't waste any time!" yelled Echo over the rubble

"Okay, we'll meet you at the rendezvous point!" yelled Kaidan

Moment later the sound of their retreating footsteps could be heard, Echo then turned towards Tali.

"You okay there?" he asked

"I'm fine, let's get moving" she replied

**With Echo and Tali**

"So I take it we are equally incapable of navigating the Citadel tower?" asked Echo with a little humor as he began looking around their side of the rubble

"I spent most of my time down in the wards, so… yeah I don't have a lot of experience navigating the tower either" replied Tali as she began her own investigation

"Hmm… I don't suppose you learned something down in the Wards that could help?" tried Echo as he investigated something that looked like a ventilation shaft

Tali stopped and looked thoughtful beneath her mask, she had heard of a few hidden passages that was used inside the tower… but it was not exactly hard information when you had learned it from a random group of ward-rats.

"Well… there were rumors of some old passages hidden inside the tower, but I'm not sure just how accurate that information is" replied Tali as she walked over and looked into the shaft Echo was investigating

Echo stepped aside and ripped off the remainder of the cover on the shaft "Look's like it wasn't rumors, though I would think "hidden passages" is a rather extravagant word for the Keepers walkways"

Looking inside the passageway, Tali saw that indeed it was nothing more than the Keepers walkways. Which of course meant that they were only large enough to fit in a Keeper, so a rather large person like Echo wouldn't exactly fit in there.

Thankfully some of the passageway seemed to have been expanded, perhaps to fit some more Keepers or simply because someone else decided that these passages were, indeed, a good way of sneaking around the Citadel tower.

"Do you think these will take us upwards?" asked Tali as she crawled a little further into the passageway

"Given that the Keepers manage to pop out at every level of the Citadel, then yes I think at some point this passageway is forced to take us somewhere upwards. Or at least somewhere that will give us another way up" replied Echo as he began following her inside the passageway

The two then crawled through the Keeper's passageways. They discovered something interesting in there though, most of the Keepers had apparently retreated into these passageways when the attack began. Getting past them was not that difficult, like usual the Keepers did not put up a fight if you just gently pushed them aside.

"Shit…" mumbled Echo

"What?" asked Tali

"I need to contact Shepard" stated Echo

Echo quickly brought up his omni-tool and called Shepard.

"_Shepard responding_" came Shepard's voice

"Shepard, It's Echo. We have a problem and the group got separated, I'm with Tali and we are making our way up through the tower, Garrus, Kaidan and Wrex are using a different path" informed Echo

"_Fuck… are you all okay?_" asked Shepard

"We are all fine, we will see you at the top" said Echo

"_See you there, just be careful. Shepard Out_" stated Shepard as she turned off the com.

Echo nodded to Tali after he closed his omni-tool and they continued on their way through the tunnels.

When they finally came across another grate they were not sure whatever they had actually ascended the tower, or made their way further down. The Keeper's tunnels seemed to twist and turn in every available direction; it did not help much that one more than one occasion both Echo and Tali felt like they were lost.

Echo kicked in the grate and crawled out first, with a quick look around he ensured that there was not any geth within a safe distance.

"We're good, no geth in sight" he announced as he stood up and cracked his back

Tali came out a moment later and did the same; though she was quite a bit smaller than Echo, it did not change the fact that having your body hunched over leave you with severe back pains.

"Did we make it further up? Or have we somehow gotten further down?" asked Tali

"From the look of it I would say we managed to get a little closer to the top, but for all I know we have found the hidden basement of the Citadel tower" replied Echo

"The Citadel tower has a basement?" asked Tali now quite confused

"Bad joke, don't mind it. Let's see if we can find our way upwards" replied Echo with a headshake

A bit of searching did leave them with a viable path up, in the form of a set of stairs. Following them, they began hearing sounds of gunfire; the sound of geth rifles was unmistakable.

They quickened the pace and hoped they could get there in time, and help whoever was currently under fire from the geth. However, as they approached the sounds, Echo suddenly slammed the brakes and grabbed Tali around the waist, almost making the poor girl fall.

"What are you doing?!" yelled Tali angrily once she had regained her footing

"Stopping you from losing your head" replied Echo coldly

"What?" said Tali confused as she tried to look around the corner they had stopped at

Echo stopped her again, if only because he did not want to enter that room right now. He had slowly gotten used to the fact that Karick was here in this dimension with him, what he was still not used to was the overwhelming amount of fear that his presence commanded.

Because that was who was around the corner, Karick, and from the flow of his presence… well he was certainly having a go at those geth and Echo was quite sure that all the gunfire he was hearing, was coming from geth madly trying to hit his old friend… and failing miserably.

"Stay right here until I tell you otherwise Tali, as of this moment I cannot guarantee your safety"

**With Kaidan, Garrus and Wrex after the roof fell**

They were all staring at the rubble, all of them knew that Echo and Tali would find their way but none of them liked the idea of splitting the team. It was after all bad enough that they had been forced to split with Shepard, Ashley and Liara earlier.

"Let's go, there is without a doubt more geth waiting up ahead. We wouldn't want to disappoint them by being late" joked Kaidan as he began heading for the stairs.

"So how far are we from the top of the tower?" asked Garrus

"My best guess is that we are roughly twenty floors away, but with any luck we should be able to find the emergency elevator somewhere on one of the floors" replied Kaidan

Wrex did not say anything and just followed behind; he was just waiting for a group of geth to come busting out of the walls. Some might say that the events of Noveria left a bit of an impression on him, Krogan battlemaster or not, it is still a rather terrifying thing to witness large tentacle bugs come bursting out of the walls and vents.

The group made their way up the floors, they did not encounter any geth on the first few but that quickly changed when they hit somewhere around the sixth floor.

"Does that sound like gunfire to you?" asked Garrus

"Sounds like a geth rifle, but what the hell do they have to shoot at in here? Isn't the entire tower evacuated by now?" added Kaidan

"Well let's stop standing around and talking about it! There are things to kill!" yelled Wrex as he charged towards the sound of geth

Garrus and Kaidan where right behind him with their own weapons drawn, they could not pass down a chance to help someone that might be stuck in the tower.

The group busted through a door into a wall of gunfire, from what they could see it was the geth currently engaged in a firefight with a set of C-Sec officers… they were not winning.

Of course, the sound of the door opening caught the attention of everyone in the room, which meant that the team suddenly had both C-Sec and geth weaponry pointed in their general direction.

"Spirits, Vakarian you choose the best moments to show up!" yelled one of the C-Sec officers when he recognized Garrus face

Garrus did not have time to reply, the first set of bullets flying over his head rather prevented that.

Wrex was the first to react, by charging straight into the group of geth with his shotgun firing and his biotics flaring. Kaidan right behind him, his omni-tool already loading a small overload and his other hand was forming a biotic throw.

By the time Wrex reached his first geth, Garrus had steadied himself for his first shot and sent it flying, nailing a geth right in the throat and sending it ground in a heap.

The C-Sec group rejoined the fight with renewed morale, seeing a Krogan battlemaster charging into the fray could make anyone ready for a fight, especially when that Krogan is on your side.

With the help of the C-Sec group, the team brought down the geth quickly and efficiently. There really was not time to do anything half-assed right now; Saren was getting closer and closer to giving control of the station to Sovereign.

"You came just in time Garrus" stated the same C-Sec officer as before

Garrus walked over and shook hands with the four C-Sec officers that had been hunkered down, they looked to be in bad shape but Garrus was not seeing any bodies so he took that as a positive sign.

"Well you know me Aralak, showing up right in the last moments is what I do" replied Garrus cheekily

"*Snort* Right of course, it has absolutely nothing to do with you being chronically late for every important meeting that has ever happened in C-Sec that didn't involve a large case briefing" said another Turian that approached

"Yeah, yeah, stow it Mettik. What are you four doing in the Citadel Tower anyway? I thought an evacuation order had been sent out?" asked Garrus in mild confusion

"Well not all of us can race around the galaxy with a Spectre, some of us actually had to stay behind and do_ actual _police work… just so happens we didn't get out of the tower before the geth found us" replied the Turian called Mettik

"Well you survived, that is what matters in the end" breathed Garrus in relief

"That wont last much longer if we don't get the heck out of here" muttered Aralak

"Do you have a way out?" asked Kaidan from his position guarding the door

"Is the way you came from safe?" asked one of the two remaining C-Sec agents

"Safe, yes. Usable, no. The roof collapsed back there and we didn't have time to remove the rubble" replied Kaidan

"Damn… we need to find another way then… any ideas?" asked the same C-Sec agent

The last C-Sec agent, a female Turian, paced a little before she seemingly got an idea

"Got it! On the next floor there is an old emergency exit, its use was discontinued when we found out that some of the doors didn't actually seal on lockdown, which means that we should be able to use them to get down to the lowest level safely" she announced

"Let's go then, you have to get out of here and we have a Turian to catch" announced Garrus

The entire group advanced to the next floor with their guns at the ready, though to everyone's surprise there was no geth yet again… It was getting a little worrying, that they only encountered geth every so often.

It took a few minutes of searching but eventually the female Turian announced, "Found it!" and with a little luck it was indeed open and was leading down towards the lower floors.

"Alright you four get out of here, don't let your guard down until you are within a safe-zone… what few that remain of them" stated Garrus as she held open the door to the emergency pathway

"Thank you Garrus, now go kick that bastards ass" said the female Turian as she entered

The other three gave the same goodbye and encouragement for the future beating of Saren.

"Shit has anyone remembered to contact Shepard?" asked Kaidan suddenly

"No we didn't… shit… better get it done" said Garrus as he brought up his omni-tool

"_Shepard Responding_" came Shepard's voice

"Garrus here. Shepard the group ended up splitting after an accident, we are all fine and are making our way up through the tower" informed Garrus

"_I know. Echo called a minute ago, you just stay safe and we will see you at the top_" replied Shepard

"Understood Shepard. Garrus out" said Garrus and closed the com

The three then kept going upwards, though they only managed two more floors, before a geth came, literally, flying past them and smacked into the wall.

"What was that?" asked Kaidan in surprise

"Flying geth?" joked Garrus, though his face showed his surprise

The group entered the floor and heard a loud booming laughter, followed by more sounds of geth smashing into walls or getting thrown around.

"*Chuckle* I know that laughter, it seems Echo's reinforcements are here" stated Wrex as he entered the room without reservation

Inside the room, Boris was currently in the process of enjoying himself. Throwing geth around was a wonderful pass time, he truly wished that his master had told him about this much sooner. When he noticed someone new enter the room his face lit up in a joyous smile.

"Wrex my friend! Are you here to partake in this glorious smashing of machines!?" yelled Boris at the top of his lungs as he threw another geth

Kaidan and Garrus were both looking between Boris and Wrex, a sigh then escaped both of them as Wrex laughed loudly and walked over to shake hands with the large man.

"Garrus, Kaidan, allow me to introduce to you, Boris!" exclaimed Wrex

**With Shepard, Ashley and Liara after the entered the elevator**

There was a silence inside the elevator; all three women were ready for anything once those doors opened again. Though they hoped, they would at least get to some cover before all of hell broke loose.

"*Phew* Okay you two… Liara I want you to stay behind us at all times, lay down as much Biotic support as you can and if you see your chance, you take it. Ash, I need you to keep right in front of Liara as much as possible, you will provide the bulk of the defense and I will ensure that any geth coming from the sides will be getting picked off" stated Shepard

"Roger Ma'am" replied Ashley

"Understood, Shepard" replied Liara

Shepard nodded and returned to staring out into the closed arms of the Citadel, right behind them were the entirety of their fleets waiting for the smallest opening… but if they didn't stop Saren and get those arms open, then they would never get that small opening.

*KRRRRRR* the elevator released a sound before grinding to a halt.

"Damn, Saren must have cut the power to the elevator…" stated Shepard as she began looking around

"What are we going to do then?" asked Liara

Shepard smiled a dangerous smile "Helmets on you two, we are going outside"

Ashley quickly put on her helmet and Liara followed, they knew their Commander was insane enough to try this. Moments later Shepard kicked out the glass between them and the outside of the Citadel tower. Shepard took a careful step that let her body adjust to the new gravitational pull.

Liara and Ashley followed her moments later, and then they were ready to make their way towards the top of the tower. Though when they caught sight of sovereign sitting there atop the tower, Ashley only had one thing to say

"Damn…"

"My thoughts exactly, Ashley" added Shepard

"Well let's get going… not much point in waiting around here" mumbled Ashley

Just before they could leave, Shepard's omni-tool began vibrating, indicating an incoming call.

"Shepard responding" answered Shepard

"_Shepard, It's Echo. We have a problem and the group got separated, I'm with Tali and we are making our way up through the tower, Garrus, Kaidan and Wrex are using a different path_" informed Echo

"Fuck… are you all okay?" asked Shepard

"_We are all fine, we will see you at the top_" replied Echo

"See you there, just be careful. Shepard Out" stated Shepard as she turned off the com.

Shepard shook her head and sighed, she then turned towards Liara and Ashley.

"The other's were split up because of an accident, they should be fine but I guess we are going to be waiting a little once we reach the top" informed Shepard

"They are all okay, right?" asked Liara

"Echo said they were all fine, but I expect a call from Garrus any moment now" replied Shepard

And just then her omni-tool began vibrating once again, she turned and gave Liara a small grin

"Shepard Responding" answered Shepard

"_Garrus here. Shepard the group ended up splitting after an accident, we are all fine and are making our way up through the tower_" informed Garrus

"I know. Echo called a minute ago, you just stay safe and we will see you at the top" replied Shepard

"_Understood Shepard. Garrus out_" said Garrus and closed the com

Shepard shook her head in amusement, but at least they knew the entire team was okay.

The three pushed forward along the outside of the tower. They kept looking inside to see if they could spot geth or other potentially threats. They walked along a set of windows, looking inside but seeing nothing, until Shepard thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

"Watch out!" yelled Shepard just as the windows exploded outwards, sending glass shards flying towards them.

The group dived behind some of the pillars protruding from the tower. They barely managed to get behind one, before the shards flew by their heads.

"That was a little too close…" muttered Shepard

Ashley popped her head out and saw a few geth exiting the newly created hole in the glass.

"Liara, we need a singularity" she called

Liara nodded and began glowing blue; she then popped up and threw her hand forward. The air in the middle of the geth began sucking in on itself until a small black ball popped into existence, and began pulling everything in its surroundings towards it.

Shepard and Ashley popped up a second later and began firing on the geth. They managed to take down three before some of the geth got away from the singularity, and began returning fire.

"Get down!" yelled Liara as she grabbed Ashley by the neck of her armor and dragged her down into cover, just in time for a rocket to propel over their heads

"Shit… thanks, Li" said Ashley as she looked after the rocket

"Just do not let it happen again" replied Liara as she quickly popped out of cover and pulled the geth with the rocket launcher towards them with a Biotic Pull.

Shepard took it down with a sniper shot "She's right Ashley, now is not the time to be unfocused"

Ashley removed a grenade from her side and tossed it "I know, sorry Shepard. Get down"

They all crouched down behind the cover as the grenade exploded; shaking some of the tower as a few pieces was blown off by the explosion. They popped up and it seemed that the grenade had taken care of the last few geth, so they were clear to proceed once again.

They kept advancing up the tower; the presence of Sovereign looming over their heads wasn't exactly a welcome distraction.

They continued up the tower and came to a corner that would lead them to the outer parts of the tower, it was also there that the defense turrets were located, and so there was a chance for them to acquire some help.

Shepard stuck her head around the corner… and promptly pulled it back just as a hail of geth assault rifle fire flew by her head.

"geth?" asked Ashley with a teasing tone

"No the ice cream man, why don't you go ask him for some?" asked Shepard in return

"You two are acting like children…" muttered Liara as she turned the corner, glowing bright blue.

Throwing out both her hands, Liara glowed golden for a glimpse of second, before two large singularities appeared and began pulling everything apart. Liara then withdrew the small sub-machine gun that Ashley had modified for her, and shot down the two closest geth to her before she returned behind cover once again.

"There, was that so difficult?" she asked in her own teasing tone

Shepard and Ashley stared at each other for a moment, and then they both went around the corner and took out the remaining geth before they dropped from the singularities.

Shepard changed the frequency on her helmet to the private one between her and Ashley

"Did you know she could do that?" asked Shepard

"Well… she told me about the whole golden biotics thing, but she didn't tell me she could do it at will" replied Ashley

"Hmm… better marry that girl before someone come and steal her" teased Shepard before turning the channel back to a public one

"Screw you ma'am" muttered Ashley

As the three women advanced, they didn't get much further than a few meters, before the sound of fighting sounded off in the distance, accompanied by the sound of metal being sliced?

Their careful walk turned into a sprint as they rushed towards the sounds. As they entered the large area holding the defense turrets they saw two things; First there was the geth Dropship hovering over them, then there was the woman in black and blood-red armor currently in the process of flying between the geth with two small swords in her hands.

**With Echo and Tali as they find Karick**

Tali was slightly scared, she had never heard Echo be that firm when ordering someone around. It didn't help when he suddenly says that he can't guarantee her safety, just what was around the corner?

"Echo, what is in there?" she asked

"The only man in the world I am truly afraid off, also my best friend and closest confidant" replied Echo as he stood still for a moment

"Engage: Neutral Mode" ordered Echo

The alpha frame began turning and twisting, slowly the heavy bulky form of the Rhino vanished and left the natural black and red neutral mode in its place.

"Why are you changing back?" asked Tali in her confusion

"Because anything else won't work for what is coming up" replied Echo as he breathed deeply and entered the room

As soon as his foot was inside the door, he used it to blast of and he began running towards Karick at full speed. He barely managed to dodge the large scythe that came for his head. Echo spun around so he was standing behind Karick and grabbed his old friend under the armpits and held him in place.

"Karick! Snap out of it!" yelled Echo

Karick was struggling against his hold, and he was about to break free. Then he suddenly seemed to calm down and slumped in Echo's arms. Echo then lowered him to the ground so he was sitting, thankfully he was supporting his own weight with his hand.

"*Phew* I really let myself go there, didn't it?" asked Karick

"You tried to take my head off" deadpanned Echo

"Ahh… well you are used to it by now" replied Karick as he stood up and stretched "What about the Quarian that is hiding out there?"

Echo looked over towards Tali and nodded "You can come out Tali"

Tali stepped out from her hiding place and approached the two, she had never actually met Karick and was quite surprised how alike the two looked when they stood side by side with their armors on. If it wasn't for Echo wearing a distinctly more "armor" looking frame, against Karick's more organic armor, then she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

"It's good that you are here my friend, what is the situation around the tower?" asked Echo

"We arrived shortly after we were done speaking, we split up to cover more ground. I made my way here, from what I can understand with Boris he has found three of your companions, the Krogan, Turian and Human. I haven't heard from the twins yet, but I suspect they are messing around with the geth somewhere. Marie is somewhere on the outside of the tower, trying to find a way to turn the defense turrets on the tower against the ships dropping down geth" replied Karick

"That means Wrex, Garrus and Kaidan got their reinforcements. Shepard, Liara and Ashley will probably meet up with Marie, unless she is on the completely opposite side of the tower" summed up Echo

"Correct. Now there was the information about our missing object, we found it... or we think we did" stated Karick

"How so?" asked Echo

"Well… supposedly there should be an object atop the Citadel Tower that supplies energy to the main controls of the station, from my investigation it would seem that this object is the one we are looking for" replied Karick

"I see… so we are looking at a 50/50 chance that this is the object, that is better odds than we have had this entire time… all there is left is to get up there and see for ourselves I guess" said Echo with a shrug

"Do you know a way to the top of the tower from here?" asked Tali towards Karick

"There is a few stairs at the end of some of the corridors, I haven't found any faster way towards the top but I assume they will do" replied Karick

"They will have to do. What do you know of the geth on the upper levels?" asked Echo

"They are getting denser the closer we are getting to the top, the last report I got from Marie said that multiple drop ships had landed geth close to the highest level of the tower. Boris has encountered increasingly larger groups the higher he went as well, I can only guess that it is the same story with the twins" replied Karick

"If their numbers only increase as we approach the top… what are we going to do, Echo? We can't take on that many geth on our own" said Tali

Echo looked pensive. There was no doubt that the three of them would have a hard time fighting against so large groups of geth… but Karick and him would have no such problem, not if they both returned to their old selves for a while.

"*Sigh* You are thinking of doing it, aren't you Marc?" asked Karick as he shook his head

"Can you think of a better alternative?" rebutted Echo as he rubbed the top of his helmet

"Alternative to what?" asked Tali

Both Tenno turned to stare at Tali; they were debating internally whatever it was worth exposing her to this. Echo knew what effect it had on people, witnessing him and Karick going all out; it had never been a good result with the battle-hardened Tenno. So how would someone as innocent as Tali react?

"We have to do it my friend… I don't like it, but we have to" stated Karick

"Fuck… *Sigh* Okay Tali, listen up" stated Echo, making Tali perk up "I am going to ask you to do something… I need you to hold whatever you see next a secret, I need you to never tell anyone about what you are about to witness, not even Shepard"

"But why not?" asked Tali

"Because little one, when Marc and I give everything we have… we stop caring for what is around us, everyone is an enemy and no one is meant to survive. We need you to remain in the background, ready to somehow snap us out of it if something is going wrong" replied Karick

"But… if you are truly that strong, then how am I meant to stop you?" continued Tali

"Open your omni-tool" asked Echo

Tali did as asked and opened her omni-tool. Echo then opened his own and began writing something on it, before he pointed it towards Tali's own omni-tool. Moments later Tali received a message with something attached; when she opened it, her omni-tool flashed as a new program was installed.

"Charge that program, then if we seem to not slow down, unleash it and it will knock me and Karick out momentarily" stated Echo

"You gave her the master control to your armor? Do you trust her that much, old friend?" asked Karick

"I do. Your master control is in there as well, Karick" stated Echo

"How did you get it? No wait… _when_ did you get it?" asked Karick in disbelief

"154 years ago, the only time I managed to knock you out in a fight" replied Echo with another shrug

"*Sigh* Little one, I must ask that you only use that program as a last way out. I must also ask that when today is over, that you delete the program and everything associated with it" ordered Karick

Tali looked at him for a second, then she began typing on her omni-tool and it gave a small flash.

"There, I have installed a fail-safe in the program. I can use it once, but then it will delete itself and every trace of it on my omni-tool. If it isn't used within 24 hours, it also erases" stated Tali

Karick seemed surprised for a moment, then nodded his head in thanks. Echo wasn't surprised by the gesture, Tali was always the type to do something like that but it only cemented his reason for giving Tali the codes.

"Alright… ready my old friend?" asked Karick

"Once we hit the next floor… no mercy…" stated Echo

"No surrender…" continued Karick

"_**No Survivors**_" the said in unison

Tali felt a child run down her spine as they spoke… their words had sounded so, so… _hollow_… like there was no life in them at all.

So it was with careful steps that she remained behind both of them all the way up to the next floor. Right before they opened the doors, she saw Echo put away his rifle and draw his Nikana and then she saw Karick draw the Scythe from his back.

They crossed their weapons and seemed to be praying for a moment. Then they looked up and opened the door to a hail of geth rifle fire.

Tali threw herself to the ground on the stairs to avoid the shots. When she looked up she only caught a glimpse, it was just for a second but she could have sworn that there only stood one person, then he was gone.

The sound of metal hitting the ground mixed with the sound of rifles going off. Tali slowly crawled up to the edge of the stairs and looked into the room, what she saw made her eyes widened in surprise.

Echo and Karick were flying between the geth. When one landed the other seemed to vanish only to appear a moment later, with their blade going through another geth. It was a horrifying thing to witness… there was a total lack of sound from the two Tenno, the only sound that reached Tali's ears was the sound of metal hitting the ground.

She kept on watching in fascination as these two monsters continued their onslaught. If one geth somehow managed to get into a good firing position, the two would move as one to avoid the weapon fire or dodge a rocket.

When the last geth dropped to the ground the two did not stop, they faced towards the stairs and continued making their way up the tower. Tali followed behind them, but she kept a distance. She suddenly realized why Echo had held her back when they first found Karick… if she had walked into the room while Karick was acting like this… she would be dead before she even knew it.

When they reached the last floor before the top, Tali felt her omni-tool vibrate, as a call was incoming.

"Tali here" she answered

"_Tali, its Shepard. We reached the top, where are you and why is Echo not answering his com?_" asked Shepard over the com

"We are one floor away… Echo is currently, unavailable. Sorry Shepard, but he made me promise not to tell anyone" replied Tali in an apologetic tone

"_It's okay Tali, I've gotten used to his secrets. Garrus said they were inbound in a few minutes as well, when we are all here we are taking down Saren. Shepard out_" stated Shepard before closing down the com link

Tali closed down her omni-tool and followed the two into the next room. What she saw when she entered made her back up a little, there was a geth here the size of an armature.

What happened next though made Tali realize just how close she had actually been to dying. When Echo and Karick saw the large geth it was like they shared a laugh. They both took off running towards the large geth and then just for a second they stopped.

They both set off from the ground, Karick jumped upwards and almost seemed like he was flying as he jumped towards the large geth. Echo had taken off and was currently running towards the large geth's legs.

Karick began spinning in the air, then a small glint of metal appeared and suddenly his Scythe seemed to fly out of his body as he threw it towards the geth. It drilled itself into the large geth's flashlight.

As the Scythe hit Echo reached the legs of the large geth, he spun around once with his Nikana almost vanishing due to the speed as he cut the legs away under the geth. The Nikana then swung upwards and Echo drilled it into the crotch area of the geth before kicking the handle, sending the blade flying through the geth.

Karick had landed atop the large geth's shoulders and grabbed the Nikana as it shot out of the head of the geth. He then jumped off the back of the geth; he spun around in the air and used the momentum to take off the head of the large geth, before landing on the wall behind it and seemingly sliding down.

Tali was standing there with her mouth agape, she had just witnessed it herself and she had a hard time believing it. Taking down a geth that size with a sword and a scythe, that was insanity!

When Karick and Echo's gaze fell upon her, she almost activated the program but stopped herself. Echo was walking towards her calmly with his helmet disengaging to reveal his sweaty face.

"Tali it's okay, we are okay. That last geth snapped us out of it" said Echo

Karick came up behind him, his own helmet having disengaged into his suit.

"It is okay little one, we couldn't defeat such a large enemy while acting like bloodthirsty beasts. So our more rational sides took over" added Karick with a smile

Tali was shaking madly, she had a really hard time accepting what she had just seen. None the less she nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's get moving then, Shepard is waiting for us by the council chambers" said Tali

The two nodded and turned around with tired smiles on their faces. They hadn't gotten to fight together like that in many years, it was a great feeling for both men… to once more have their brother stand by their side as the took down hordes of enemies.

There was nothing on the last staircase and once the three reached the final floor, where the council chambers were located, they looked over and saw Shepard, Liara, Ashley and Marie standing there waiting for them.

**With Garrus, Kaidan and Wrex after they met Boris**

"It is good to meet the friends of Wrex! Are you friends of the scary man in armor as well!?" asked Boris in his loud tone

"Scary man in armor? You must mean Echo" deadpanned Kaidan as he shook his head

"Yes, Echo! The scary man in armor that is friends with my master!" exclaimed Boris

"We are friends with him yes, and I take it you are the reinforcements he spoke of?" asked Garrus

"Indeed, I am here to assist you to the top of the tower! And smash as many geth along the way as I can! Hahahaha!" exclaimed Boris before laughing

Garrus and Kaidan looked at each other for a moment, then Garrus made the intergalactic sign of insanity by swirling a finger in a circular motion next to his head. Kaidan could only nod in agreement.

"So what do you know of the floors ahead, meat-head?" asked Wrex with humor

"There is geth ahead, that is all I know!" yelled Boris

"Then I guess we are fighting our way forward. I take it you are a close quarter specialist, Boris?" asked Kaidan

"Yes I am proficient with my fists indeed!" replied Boris excitedly

Wrex laughed as he led Boris forward towards the stairs leading up to the next floor. Garrus and Kaidan were right behind him, sharing quite a few meaningful glances

Garrus leaned in a little closer and muttered "I think his fists is the only thing he is proficient with" just loud enough for Kaidan to hear

Kaidan snorted before muttering "That and perhaps how to break walls with his head" in response, making Garrus snort in amusement.

They hit the next floor with guns blazing. Boris and Wrex hard charged in together, smashing the first few geth they encountered and then gunned down the next few. Kaidan and Garrus moved in behind them and took care of the auxiliary groups standing off to the sides. All in all, those four together made for quite the destructive team.

They had taken down another floor when Kaidan stopped them to ask Boris about something.

"Boris do you know what is going on in the rest of the tower?" he asked

"According to my teammates then they have made contact with your other friends! They are fighting their way towards the top, smashing many geth along the way!" replied Boris hotly

"Good, so everyone has received reinforcements. I don't suppose you know a quicker way towards the top?" asked Garrus

"Sadly I do not! I split from my team when we arrived, and I have been fighting ever since!" exclaimed Boris

"Of course…" muttered Garrus

"Let's just keep going, maybe we'll get lucky and find something" stated Kaidan

With a round of nods they continued onwards. The following floors were nothing but more geth. Boris displayed his imminence strength by constantly tossing the geth around and even knocking a geth Juggernaut on its mechanical ass at one points.

They were roughly five floors out when Garrus' omni-tool pinged to announce an incoming call.

"Garrus here" he answered

"_Garrus, It's Shepard. We are at the council chambers now, we cleared out the geth and there is a clear path to Saren. How far out are you?"_ asked Shepard over the com

"From my memory we should be about six-five floors away, we should be there soon if we keep progressing like we are now. What about Echo and Tali?" asked Garrus

"_I am contacting them next, but if they received reinforcements like the us then I think they aren't too far out_" replied Shepard

"Same thing here, we got a big guy called Boris and he is making short work of the geth. I suspect we will see each other in five-ten minutes Shepard" stated Garrus

"_Understood, we will be waiting for you. Shepard out_" said Shepard before cutting the com

Garrus turned towards the others to find them staring at him expectantly.

"Good news, Garrus?" asked Wrex

"Shepard and her team arrived at the Council Chambers. They have cleared the geth and we have a path to Saren, they are just waiting for us to arrive" replied Garrus

"What about Echo and Tali?" asked Kaidan

"She was calling them next, but like Shepard told me, if they have gotten reinforcements like us then they should be fine" answered Garrus

"Ah yes! I think my Master went looking for the scary man in the armor!" exclaimed Boris

"Then I guess we shouldn't stand around here and waste time, let's get moving" suggested Kaidan

The uncanny group continued their push forward. The next few floors seemed to have a denser concentration of geth, thankfully it seemed to let up in tact with the sight of a burning geth dropship falling down the side of the Tower.

Arriving at the final floor before the top they noticed all the geth was seemingly waiting for them, give that once they opened the door they had roughly a seconds worth of reaction time to duck right back out of the room… before a hail of geth rifle fire flew over their heads.

"Any plans?" asked Garrus from his new position on the floor

"Wrex how much can your barrier take?" asked Kaidan

"If I push everything into it… a lot, why?" asked Wrex in return

"If you provide the cover, then Boris can move in behind you and disturb their ranks. Enough for me and Garrus to pick off enough of them to allow us to advance into the room ourselves" answered Kaidan

"Sounds like a plan" added Garrus

"Alright let's do it" responded Wrex

Wrex breathed in slowly before a purple hue spread across his body. He pushed everything he had into the barrier and hoped it would hold, there is much Krogan regeneration could do but even that had its limits.

"Let us go, Wrex!" yelled Boris

Wrex charged forward with a roar. Boris followed him closely and the geth were tearing into Wrex's barrier, if it hadn't been for his many years of experience he would probably have fallen by now.

When they reached the first line of geth, Wrex released a fierce roar as he overloaded the Barrier making it explode and knocking a few geth off their feet. Wrex used this chance to pull out his shotgun and take down as many of the fallen geth as possible.

Boris had split from Wrex once they had hit the first line, he had jumped straight for the second line of geth and began tearing into them. He grabbed one by the leg and flung it into two of its allies before turning on another and smashing his hand into its chest, causing a large dent to appear and the geth to drop to the ground lifeless.

Garrus was busy dropping what geth he could get within his sights, most of them were standing off to the sides trying to flank the two beasts that had just smashed through their center column.

Kaidan was lying down suppression fire for Garrus between his shots, while also providing support to Wrex and Boris with his biotics, not that either of the two actually needed it since it seemed like they were slowly growing impervious to bullets.

The last of the geth dropped to the ground and all four men shared a sigh of relief, it was over and now they could advance up top to meet up with Shepard and the others.

"Just Saren left…" growled Wrex as they approached the last set of stairs

"He is going to pay…" continued Garrus with a visible scowl

"Let's kick his ass" finished Kaidan as they reached the stairs and began their ascend

They made their way up the stairs quickly and found themselves standing near the Council Chambers, they could see Shepard standing and talking with Echo off in the distance, the rest of the team standing around them.

**With Shepard, Liara and Ashley moments after seeing Marie**

Shepard, Ashely and Liara were all staring in wonder as the woman was jumping between the geth. She was taking them down with almost surgical precision and did not waste any time on any of the geth once she was sure they were dead.

She sliced off their heads, cut a vital power cord or simply disabled them with a heavy overload, and then moved on the next geth in the line. It was incredible for Shepard especially to witness as she had trained with Marc in the art of the blade for a while now, and she recognized some of the woman's movements as the same she had been taught.

"Who is she?" asked Ashley

"Our reinforcement I would guess" answered Shepard

They continued to look on until the woman had dispatched the final few of the geth. When the woman noticed her company she quickly made her way over to the group and bowed quickly.

"You must be Commander Shepard" she stated

"Yeah that would be me, I take it you are from Karick's team?" asked Shepard

"That is correct, my name is Marie" replied Marie

"You certainly know your way around a blade, I take it Karick trained you?" continued Shepard

"Correct again, my master has been teaching me the art of the blade for the past three years" replied Marie with a small smile

"Did he try and kill you as well, when he handed you your first blade?" inquired Shepard

Marie shook her head, and Shepard could have sworn she looked sad for a moment.

"No, my master didn't feel I was ready for such a test so he asked me to pick up the blades myself. Thus freeing him of the oath to try and strike me down" replied Marie

"Consider yourself lucky, Echo didn't exactly give me much warning" muttered Shepard

"You are a practitioner of the blade as well?" asked Marie with interest

"*Nod* Echo has been teaching me for a while now, I don't know if I'm any good but I like to think I'm not completely horrible" replied Shepard with a grin

"Shepard, we are kind of on a schedule here" interrupted Ashley

"Yeah you're right. Marie what can you tell us about the situation?" asked Shepard towards Marie

"I split from my team as soon as we reached the tower, I have been fighting around the entire outside of the tower. Turning on the various defense turrets to help take down all those geth dropships we keep seeing… speaking of which, there comes another one!" yelled Marie as she prepared for a fight

There was an inactive turret right next to the four women, Shepard smashed the button and turned it on. It began firing towards the geth dropship instantly, but it wasn't exactly doing a lot of damage but it would take down the ship eventually.

"We need more firepower!" yelled Ashley as she saw the first few geth exit the dropship.

Marie looked over to the side and saw another turret, though this one was inactive.

"I can hack the turret over there, I just need you to cover me while I get it going" she stated

"Go, we will cover you" ordered Shepard

Marie nodded but before taking off she withdrew a long katana in its scabbard from her back and handed it to Shepard.

"Here, make use of it" she stated before turning and running over the turret

Shepard placed the scabbard on her back, thankfully it had magnetic clamps in it so she could attach it like any other weapon… would have been a pain to carry around that is for sure.

The three women took cover as the first few bullets raced by them. Liara of course wasted no time in throwing her biotics around, managing to stop the geth's advance with a few well-placed singularities. Ashley was firing as she moved between cover, she wanted to get closer to Marie so she could provide better cover fire for their hacker.

Shepard was using her sniper to pick off any geth she could, but it was proving difficult as more and more of them began putting up those annoying energy shields.

"Okay I got the turret running!" yelled Marie as she drew her two smaller blades and charged towards the geth

The three other women watched in amazement as Marie charged down the path. She slammed into the first geth she met along the way and drove her two blades through its chest; she then lifted the entire geth and used it as a shield for approaching the remaining geth.

Shepard heard Ashley mutter a curse as another energy shield sprung into life, if they didn't cut down the amount of geth soon, they wouldn't be able to get any shots through.

"I told you to make use of that blade, Shepard! So show me what you have learnt!" yelled Marie as she took down another geth

Shepard breathed deeply before nodding to herself, replacing the sniper with the blade Marie gave her. She looked over at Liara and nodded.

"I'll keep them back with my biotics while you approach" said Liara

With a nod Shepard took off.

'_Control your breathing. Slow and steady breaths, you will be useless if you hyperventilate'_ Echo's words were ringing through her mind as she charged.

When the first geth was within her range, Shepard drew the blade and sliced through the air. The geth dropped to the round, now lacking its torso. Continuing onwards, Shepard's eyes were only focused on the next geth. Like Echo had taught her, don't ever focus on everything, pick a target and kill it.

Ashley was having a rather hard time bringing down all those energy barriers, but when she finally did manage to break one without overheating her weapon she did drop a geth or two before a new barrier sprung in its place.

Liara was doing her best to keep the geth off their feet with her biotics, but she was reaching her limit. The stunt with the golden biotics earlier pulled a great deal of her power, she would need to rest soon or she would collapse

A loud explosion sounded over their heads, and four sets of eyes looked upwards to see the Geth Dropship slowly falling off to the side and seemingly becoming one big ball of fire.

"Okay let's clear these guys out and get moving!" yelled Shepard as she drove he blade through another geth

Liara was at her limit so she slumped down and leaned against the wall, she knew that they could handle the last few geth but she needed to relax for a moment.

Ashley began advancing towards the geth, now that they didn't have the threat of the dropship she could finally approach with a little more assurance.

Marie and Shepard were keeping themselves busy, being right in the middle of everything meant that they were dodging shots left and right. The two passed one another for barely a moment, but it was enough for Shepard to grab onto Marie's arm and spin her around and then send her flying towards another geth.

Once Ashley joined them down at the geth's position there really wasn't much more fighting left to do. With Ashley's added firepower the remaining geth dropped like flies and the team could breathe a breath of relief.

"Where's Liara?" asked Shepard as she looked around for their blue teammate

Ashley's head snapped towards the place Liara had taken cover, when she didn't respond Ashley began running faster than she had ever done before.

She rounded the raised piece of wall and saw Liara sitting leaning against the wall, breathing a few heavy breaths and looking quite tired.

"Good grief, Li… don't do that!" exclaimed Ashley as she leaned down and hugged her

"What did I do?" asked Liara with a tired voice

"Nothing Liara, you just gave Ash a heart attack when we couldn't see you" responded Shepard as she came around herself

"Oh… sorry Ash" mumbled Liara as she was released from the hug

"It's okay… you just scared me a little" replied Ashley with a smile

"Enough with the mushy moment, how about we get moving?" interjected Marie as she joined the three

"You're right. Keep to the back as before Liara, but don't overdo it. We need you" stated Shepard

Liara nodded and rose to her feet with a little help from Ashley. Then they continued their path towards the top of the tower. They encountered two Krogan who were blocking their path, they didn't manage to do any damage as Marie displayed her raw speed by crossing her blades through the skull of the first Krogan, and then she jumped over to the other and jammed a grenade down his throat.

"That's… gruesome" muttered Ashley as she saw the Krogan explode

"It's efficient" said Marie with a shrug

The group turned a corner and found themselves staring down a large open area with turrets pointing the wrong direction, _towards then_.

"Back around!" yelled Shepard just in time to see the first few heavy shots of the turret slam into the wall

"Okay we need a plan for this" stated Ashley

"Let me approach, you just provide cover fire for me and I will shut down the turrets" stated Marie

"Can you do that without getting caught?" asked Shepard

"I'm a stealth specialist before anything else, you just keep their attention on you and I will be fine" replied Marie

"Okay let's get this going… alert us as soon as turret is down so we can advacnce" ordered Shepard

"Understood. See you on the other side" stated Marie before she melded together with the shadows

Shepard, Ashley and Liara all entered the large are and immediately took cover in one of the trenches that were on the outside of the Citadel Tower. The geth began firing instantly and tried to keep them away from the turrets.

Shepard and Ashley were popping in and out of cover while taking shots at the geth. They were at least succeeding in keeping their attention, though the occasional sound of metal being sliced let them know that Marie was there as well.

Liara took a deep breath and popped up before landing a singularity quite a bit above all of them, she then dropped back down to cover and pulled out her sub-machine gun.

"It might not draw them towards it, but that singularity will be attracting their bullets. It should give us a little more room to maneuver" she said

Shepard nodded and then quickly dived out of cover to throw a grenade, before going right back behind cover to avoid the incoming rocket.

"Those damn Rocket Troopers are becoming a pain in my ass!" yelled Shepard angrily

"_How do you think I feel right now? First turret disabled, advance!_" said Marie over the com

The three quickly advanced forward past the first turret, but remained out of the second turret's range. They weren't going to risk it.

They kept up their suppression fire, seemingly there couldn't be that many geth left because they weren't getting that much return fire currently.

Though that changed when they finally realized it was because the geth had seen Marie, and were heading directly for her instead.

"Shit! Marie you have incoming!" yelled Shepard as she vaulted over her cover and began racing towards the second turret

"_I don't have incoming! They are here!_" yelled Marie in return over the com

Ashley and Liara had started moments later than Shepard. So when they arrived over where Marie was getting attacked, all they managed to see was Shepard and Marie dancing around one another like a whirlwind of steel.

Shaking themselves out of their stupor, Ashley and Liara joined the fight. Though Liara held back on the biotics as she still wasn't back to full power just yet, but her sub-machine gun certainly worked to kill geth as well.

The last of the geth dropped and Marie quickly disabled the cannon, and then dropped to the ground while leaning against the turret base.

"Okay I think we need to have a talk about what "keeping their attention" means, because clearly you didn't understand" joked Marie tiredly

"How about we just assault the last cannon together? Not risk this happening again?" suggested Shepard

"*Yawn* Sounds like a plan, I could definitely do without another surprise like that" replied Marie

Jumping up on one of the ledges, Shepard looked over the last stretch leading towards the last turret. It wasn't that heavily defended, perhaps they had managed to thin out the number of geth a little

"Okay it seems we have moderately free passage towards the last turret, but I think we need to sprint there to close the distance as fast as possible… wouldn't want to risk getting caught in an ambush" suggested Shepard

"Let me run point, if there is an ambush I have a better chance of getting out of it again" said Marie

"I will make up the rear, Liara you keep in front of me. That we have decent protection all around, if that is okay with you, Shepard" suggested Ashley

"It's better than no plan at all, let's do it" said Shepard with a sharp nod

They all lined up and prepared to run. Marie was the first to take off and Shepard followed closely behind, a moment later Liara and Ashley were hot on their heels.

With Marie running point the turret of course aimed for her first, but her superior reflexes allowed her to dodge the turret's shots and since everyone else was running behind her they just stayed there and avoided the shots with her.

When they hit the base of the final turret they saw four geth standing ready. They were quickly dispatched when Liara threw a singularity in the middle of them, and Ashley overheated her gun as she shot all of them down.

Marie quickly disabled the turret and checked around to ensure that there were no more geth around, when she was sure she returned to the group.

"We are clear" announced Marie

"Good, let's keep going. We should be close now" stated Shepard as she led them forward

And sure enough a little further ahead the found a hatch. Once they got it open and jumped through they were all quite happy to find that they were standing by the elevator exit to the Council Chambers.

"Finally…" breathed Ashley

"Agreed… now we just need to clear the geth here as well…" muttered Liara in a tired tone

"Look at the bright side; no turrets" added Marie and a semi-cheery tone

"Great… *sigh* let's get it done, we don't know when the others will get here" said Shepard

The three others just nodded their heads tiredly, everyone was getting rather low on energy but they couldn't exactly afford to just bunk down and go to sleep.

They approached the staircase leading to the upper part of the Council Area, only to be met by four geth raining gunfire down on them.

Liara reacted instantly and managed to take down two of them with a well-placed biotic push, sending one of the geth hurling into the one behind it.

The other two were taken down with a well-placed sniper shot from Shepard, and a thrown knife going through its flashlight by Marie.

They hit the upper platform and took cover behind some of the benches. The ensuing firefight between them and the eight geth guarding the entrance to the council chambers were a short one.

Shepard and Ashley had both had enough and were unloading everything they had onto the geth. Marie had even foregone her swords and was using a small pistol that had been hanging, unused, at her side.

Liara took care of the last geth but lifting it into the air with her biotics and sending it slamming into the ground, crushing the entire upper part of it.

"We're clear, all that is left is Saren" announced Shepard

"Call the others and find out how far out they are, if we wait much longer it might end up being too late" added Ashley

With a nod Shepard opened up her omni-tool and called Garrus, it took a moment before he answered.

"_Garrus here_" answered Garrus

"Garrus, It's Shepard. We are at the council chambers now, we cleared out the geth and there is a clear path to Saren. How far out are you?_"_ asked Shepard over the com

"_From my memory we should be about six-five floors away, we should be there soon if we keep progressing like we are now. What about Echo and Tali?"_ asked Garrus

"I am contacting them next, but if they received reinforcements like the us then I think they aren't too far out" replied Shepard

"_Same thing here, we got a big guy called Boris and he is making short work of the geth. I suspect we will see each other in five-ten minutes Shepard_" stated Garrus

"Understood, we will be waiting for you. Shepard out" said Shepard before cutting the com

"So they got that big lug, Boris huh?" asked Marie from the side

"It would seem so, is he special?" asked Shepard

"Define 'special'" joked Marie

Shepard shook her head in amusement as she called up Echo. Only he didn't answer. She tried again, but with the same result. Growing a little worried, Shepard called up Tali.

"_Tali here_" answered Tali

"Tali, its Shepard. We reached the top, where are you and why is Echo not answering his com?" asked Shepard

"_We are one floor away… Echo is currently, unavailable. Sorry Shepard, but he made me promise not to tell anyone_" replied Tali in an apologetic tone

"It's okay Tali, I've gotten used to his secrets. Garrus said they were inbound in a few minutes as well, when we are all here we are taking down Saren. Shepard out" stated Shepard before closing down the com link

Once more there was some secret he didn't want to tell her, she had indeed grown used to it but she still wished he would tell her these things. Perhaps he would tell her once they had dealt with Saren, but she needed to focus on this for now.

"Echo and Tali should be here soon, and Garrus, Kaidan and Wrex shouldn't be that long out either" announced Shepard to the others

"If you will excuse me, I think I need to sit down for a moment" stated Liara as she stepped over and sat down on a bench, Ashley joined her moments later.

Shepard and Marie joined them, though chose to stay standing. They led a small conversation that primarily centered on Marie and her time with Karick, as Shepard was quite fascinated by him. Anyone that Echo thinks that highly of had to be someone unique.

Liara's eyes widened ever so slightly as she noticed Echo and Tali came walking up through a set of stairs at the side of the platform.

"They are here" she announced

They all turned and looked as Tali was leading them forward, and Echo and Karick were walking behind her with sweat practically washing off them.

"You look… tired" deadpanned Shepard

"Giant geth… large amounts of work… jumping… I'm too old for this…" mumbled Echo as he hugged Shepard

"What my old friend is attempting to say is; we needed to do something that neither of us like to do, so that we could take down the geth we encountered. We ended up meeting a quite large geth that required us to go all out for us to beat. Hence why we are sweating and are tired… Hello Marie" added Karick as he walked over and gave Marie a quick hug, surprising the younger woman.

"Master!" exclaimed Marie in surprise

A low chuckle came from Echo as he looked upon his old friend… ohh the ribbing Karick was going to face, when this was all over

"Not a word, Marc" stated Karick as he stood upright once more

"Of course not. Wouldn't dream of it" mused Echo with a wide grin

A small laugh passed through the group as they stood and waited. Conversations slowly returned to the group until Shepard tapped Echo on the shoulder and pointed behind him. He turned around just a Garrus, Wrex, Kaidan and Boris stepped up from the stairs and looked none the worse for wear.

"You made it" stated Shepard

"It wasn't a problem, and I see everyone else is already here" stated Garrus with a grin

Echo pulled Karick to the side as Shepard caught up with the other group. He needed to speak with his friend for a moment.

"I need you to take your team back down the tower" began Echo

"Why? You are about to face Saren in there, and you want me to leave?" asked Karick in confusion

"This is their mission, they need to complete it. I also need you to go through the tower for others that might be stuck, because once we have dealt with Saren in there… the entire top part of the tower is coming down on our heads" finished Echo

"Are you going to survive it?"

"I can't promise that, but I can assure you that I will do my best to ensure we all come out of this alive"

"*Sigh* very well my friend, I will trust you"

"Thank you"

They returned to the group just as Shepard was preparing to take them all in to face Saren.

"We are leaving" announced Karick

"What?!" yelled Marie

"We are going down through the tower, we are going to look for survivors. This is your mission Shepard, see it through" stated Karick

"We will get him, you go ensure that everyone have gotten out safely. Thank you for your help" replied Shepard

Karick nodded and snapped his fingers, Boris and Marie fell in line instantly.

"Let's go find those two idiots… they are probably still fighting something, if not each other" stated Karick in a tired tone as he began leading them away from the team.

"Catch you later, Karick" called Echo after them

Karick just raised his fist in the air in a shared gesture between the two Tenno.

Shepard took a deep breath as she stepped forward and stood before her team.

"Okay everyone, this is it. The grand finale, after this there is nothing else. Let's go bring him down" stated Shepard

Everyone nodded and fell in line behind Shepard as she led them inside the Council Chambers, where they saw Saren standing on his floating platform.

"Shepard… I was afraid you were going to be late" stated Saren as he saw them approach

"Late for what?" returned Shepard angrily

"Why our final showdown… though I will admit I find myself in a bit of a bind" replied Saren with amusement before his gaze fell upon Echo "Mr. Echo, it is good to see you again. I must admit that after our meeting I began doubting everything…"

"You fucking idiot" announced Echo as he rubbed his eyes

"I see you figured it out already…" began Saren

"You let Sovereign implant you didn't you?" stated Echo

"What? You have seen what Sovereign can do to peoples minds, and then you let him implant you?! Are you completely insane?!" yelled Shepard in surprise

"I was doubting my cause, so Sovereign helped me overcome it. Now I have no doubt in the Reaper's master plan… though there is one thing Sovereign didn't count on" stated Saren

"What could that possibly be?" asked Shepard in disbelief

"That I am no one's puppet" growled Saren dangerously as his biomechanical eyes flashed red for the barest of seconds

Saren seemed to struggle with himself for a second, then his eyes returned to their electric blue. He seemed to press a few buttons on his biomechanical arm, and a compartment opened on the upper part of it.

Saren pulled out a small vial with some purple glowing liquid inside, he looked at it sadly before turning his gaze upon Echo once more.

"I must thank you again Mr. Echo, you returned to me the research and I completed the cure… now I must ask you for one final favor…" said Saren before he threw the vial at Echo, who caught it and looked it over "Bring that to Palavan, find my sister and give it to her… she is all that I have left"

Echo looked over the small vail, it did indeed look like some form of medicine. Of course he was going to have Eva run it through some tests to ensure it wasn't anything dangerous.

"You have my word, Saren that I will bring this to her sister. What is her name?" asked Echo

Saren looked distraught for a moment, then his gaze fell on Garrus and then a whole new level of sadness entered his gaze as he looked at the younger Turian.

"This… this was not the way I wished to let you know, Garrus" Saren then turned his gaze back on Echo "Her name… is Vitelana Vakarian" stated Saren

A stunned silence filled the room, even Echo stood with a surprised look on his face. Though no one was more surprised than Garrus.

"Y-You… no… no you have to be lying… mom wouldn't have kept that hidden from us!" yelled Garrus in denial

"She didn't tell you on my wish. I was scared that when I became Spectre that some of the scum I put away would wish to get back at me, and to do that they would go after my family… I couldn't risk my only sister getting hurt because of me. So I changed my name and cut all ties with her… or I tried" replied Saren sadly

A small light seemed to go off inside Garrus head, as if a memory came to the forefront of his mind.

"You are him… the uncle that kept sending me and Sol presents, mother always said that you simply didn't wish to return to Palavan and so you just send the presents… I still have the toy gun you gave me" stated Garrus as he suddenly looked conflicted

"Your sixth birthday if I remember correctly… your mother was furious with me because of it. *Sigh* I am so proud of you Garrus, you became every part the honorable Turian that we hoped you would become… give your mother and sister my best regards, and tell them I'm sorry" Saren then drew his gun and placed it beneath his head

"I can't hold Sovereign back any longer. Thank you for everything Mr. Echo… Shepard… you are a great Spectre, do good. Do not fall to the corruption of the council… Goodbye" with those words Saren pressed the trigger

His dead body dropped from the platform and shattered the glass underneath the council stands. His body landed in the small garden below and lay there, lifeless.

Tali moved over and embraced Garrus as tears slowly began falling from the Turian.

Everyone stood in stunned silence… This was not how they expected this to end. Saren, in the end, gave his life for what was right, his last moments was spent being a true Spectre.

"Shepard… we need to open the arms of the Citadel" stated Echo in a dead tone

Shepard nodded and approached the holo-screen that was floating. Below it stood a small console, atop of that console sat a small circular device.

Shepard pointed her omni-tool towards the screen for a moment, her omni-tool then flared green for a moment.

"I have control of the station" she announced

"Open the arms. Maybe the Fleet can take care of Sovereign before he regains control of the station" stated Ashley

"Try an open a communications channel as well, maybe someone needs help" added Liara

Shepard opened the communications channel first.

"… _the Destiny Ascension. Main drives offline. Kinetic Barriers at 40%. The Council aboard, I repeat, the Council is on board._" Came the sound of an Asari over the new com channel

"_Normandy to the Citadel, Normandy to the Citadel. Please tell me that it's you, Commander"_ came Joker's voice over the com

"I'm here Joker, what's happening?" replied Shepard

"_It's good to hear your voice Commander. We caught that distress call, Commander. I'm sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Arcturus fleet. We can save the Ascension, just unlock the relays around the Citadel and we'll send in the cavalry in_" responded Joker

"You can't waste human lives on saving the Council, they are not worth it!" yelled Kaidan

"This goes way beyond on just humanity, Sovereign and the Reapers are a threat to every organic species in the galaxy!" countered Liara

"Both of you shut up" ordered Echo as he stepped up next to Shepard "Sarah, look at me. The Council might be full of it, but if we do not save them then mankind will never recover. The other races will never trust you again, it's not worth it" stated Echo

"*Sigh* I wish you weren't right, because I am really tempted to just fuck them and get Sovereign" replied Shepard before she pulled up her omni-tool

"I'm opening the Relays, Joker, go save the Ascension" ordered Shepard

"_Understood Shepard, one Destiny Ascension rescue, coming right up!_" replied Joker

"You did the right thing, Shepard" added Echo

"I know…" muttered Shepard as she opened the arms to the Citadel.

Everyone stood and watched as the arms of the Citadel slowly spread apart once more. When they were open enough, everyone cheered as the Normandy came flying through, closely followed by most of the Alliance Fleet.

Echo looked away and inspected the small console, and the orb on top of it. When he grabbed the orb he had to take a sharp breath… this was definitely it, this was what he was looking for.

"Go make sure he is dead…" ordered Shepard behind him

Echo turned and watched as a few of the team made their way down towards the garden, Garrus wasn't joining them. They all looked on as they approached the body and shot it once through the head… knowing that Sovereign could still take control, Echo jumped down and looked at the body for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Garrus" said Echo as he looked up towards his friend, before drawing his Nikana and quickly separating the head from the body

Once they had all made their way back up to the group, Echo explained himself.

"I needed to make sure that he was really did, we have no idea what the Reapers are truly capable of… so I was just making sure" he explained to Garrus

"I get it… thank you. I don't know if I could handle seeing him come back" replied Garrus with a smile

All of them turned and looked out the large window, Sovereign had release his hold on the tower and was floating helplessly. It was an incredible sight to witness as the entire Alliance Fleet unloaded their arsenal and blew Sovereign to high hell.

'_One down… thousands to go…'_ thought Echo angrily as he saw the various parts of Sovereign fly around… and then one of them began heading in their direction

"Oh shit, watch out!" roared Echo as he ran over and tacked Shepard to the ground just as the large claw smashed through the window.

Everything went to hell as the claw smashed through pillars and floors. Rubble flew everywhere and the screams and yells of the team could be heard as some of them was squeezed under rubble.

Those of the team that managed to remain conscious couldn't tell how much time passed before the first yells came. They tried to yell back but no one had the air to do so, all they could hear were the muffled sounds of the others and the sound of Liara crying while screaming Ashley's name.

Echo himself had been knocked out and woke just in time to have a flashlight shone in his face.

"*Groan* I'm alive… fuck…" he growled as he sat up and looked at the human that had found him

Anderson was right behind him. When Anderson spotted Echo he quickly walked over and helped him to stand up

"Where are the others, where is Shepard?" asked Anderson

Echo focused for a moment before he began pointing in different directions, slowly.

"Ashley and Liara are over there, they need medical assistance. Garrus is over there and seems okay. Kaidan is in the rubble behind me. Wrex is okay and is coming over here… Shepard is… I can't feel her…" said Echo in a robotic tone

Everyone else was dug out as quickly as possible and soon everyone was sitting in front of the large rubble, all receiving medical care.

Ashley had been the worst of all of them, her left leg had been utterly crushed by a piece of falling debris. She wasn't going to lose it, but she was certainly going to be using crutches for a few weeks for the medi-gel to work its magic.

"Still no sign of Shepard?" asked Anderson as he came back from speaking with a few privates

"No, they still haven't found her" replied Kaidan with a sigh

Everyone was looking down, the loss of their Commander would be too much. But they were all feeling with Echo, some of them knew that he had lost a wife and to think he had lost another important person to him.

Then he looked up and a weird expression came to his face. From Echo's perspective he had suddenly felt a small presence, it was very minor but it was growing rapidly. When it suddenly exploded into a light double a bright as Shepard's had been in the past… well Echo could only laugh

"What is so funny, Echo?" asked Garrus

"She's fine… of course she is" he responded.

When they looked like they were going to ask a question he simply lifted his hand and stopped them, then he pointed behind him to the rubble.

They all turned and looked, then they saw it. Shepard stepped over the rubble and just for a moment, everyone who was there had no trouble believing that this woman could save the entirety of the galaxy… that she was going to bring down the Reapers.

"Good god, Shepard! Don't scare us like that!" exclaimed Ashley with a pained smile

"Sorry everyone, it took a little to dig myself out of the rubble" joked Shepard as she walked towards Anderson only for him to engulf her in a hug

"It's good to see you again Sarah… you really scared me there" said Anderson

"Sorry David, I won't do it again" replied Sarah with a grin

Everyone greeted Shepard in their own way and gave their congratulations. They had beaten Saren and everything was looking up, now they just needed to rebuild for a time.

Everyone was having a good time celebrating with whomever was close by, but eventually the world went on and Shepard was called upon with Anderson and Udina to come see the Council. They met them at a bridge in the Presidium, the three Councilors looked quite happy.

"Ambassador, Captain, Shepard. We have gathered here to recognize the enormous contributions of the Alliance forces in the war against Sovereign and the geth" said Tevos

"Many humans lost their lives in the battle to save the Citadel, brave and courageous soldiers who willingly gave their lives so that we, the Council, might live" continued Valern

"There is no greater sacrifice, and we share your grief over the tragic loss of so many noble men and women" added Sparatus

"The Council also owes you a great personal debt, Commander. One we can never repay. You saved not just our lives, but the lives of billions from Sovereign and the Reapers" said Tevos

"Commander Shepard, your heroic and selfless actions serve as a symbol of everything that humanity and the Alliance stands for" continued Valern

"And though we cannot bring back those valiant soldiers who gave their lives to save ours, we can honor their memories through our actions" added Sparatus

"Humanity has shown that it is ready to stand as a defender and protector of the galaxy. You have proved that you are worthy to join our ranks and serve besides us on the citadel Council" finished Tevos

"Councilor, on behalf of humanity and the Alliance, we thank you for this prestigious honor and humbly accept" said Udina

"Of course we will need a list of potential candidates to fill humanity's seat on the Council" said Valern

"Given all that has happened I am sure that your recommendation will carry a great deal of weight, Commander. Do you support any particular candidate?" asked Tevos

Shepard looked thoughtful for a moment, but it was all for show. She knew who they needed on the council, and it certainly wasn't Udina.

"We need someone with courage to stand up for what he believes in, someone like Captain Anderson" replied Shepard with a smile

"Him? You must be joking Shepard, Anderson prefers to let his fist do the talking" grumbled Udina

"Only with you Ambassador" replied Anderson with a cheeky grin

"*Sigh* Are you completely sure about this, Commander? The Captain is a soldier, not a politician" tried Udina

"We have too many politicians on the Citadel, it's time for someone with a new perspective and Anderson is perfect for that job" replied Shepard

"I think it is an inspired choice, and we would welcome him with open arms… that is if he chooses to accept?" Tevos directed the question towards Anderson

"I'm honored Councilor, as Humanity's representative I will do everything in my power to help the Council rebuild" replied Anderson

"Sovereign's defeat marks the beginning of a new era, both for humanity and the Council" declared Sparatus with pride

"You might think so, but the Reapers are still coming… thousands of ships. Whatever you will actually believe me is of little matter, I will find a way to stop them. If the council will have me excused" replied Shepard before turning and walking way, leaving a surprised Council behind.

Shepard found her way back to her team, they were all waiting down in the park. Everyone was laughing and smiling over their defeat of Sovereign… no one was celebrating Saren's death out of respect for Garrus.

"Shepard!" cheered Wrex

"So it's done… can we have a bit of downtime now, Commander?" joked Kaidan from his position beneath a tree

"I think we all deserved a bit of a break, lord knows I could do with a shower" joked Shepard in return making everyone chuckle

"Well… not everything…" said Ashley in a weird tone as she turned towards Liara

Everyone looked on in curiosity and surprise as Ashley went down on one knee with a pained expression on her face, before a smile replaced it.

"Liara toady I tried something that I never wish to try again, I thought I might have lost you forever. When the council chamber collapsed I feared the worst… it turned out that I was the one getting hurt, but it made me realize something… I never wish to go a day longer without you and I won't put this off… Liara T'Soni, will you marry me?" asked Ashley with barely contained happy tears stinging at her eyes

A collective breath was drawn by everyone as they looked towards Liara for her reaction.

Tears appeared in Liara's eyes almost instantly, she tackled Ashley to the ground with a loud "Yes!" before the two locked their lips to the sound of everyone cheering and clapping loudly

Marc and Sarah were standing off the side, clapping politely.

"You reprimanded her once, _once_, for her Xenophobia and look what happened" joked Sarah

"They are good for each other… Eric is going to kill me though" replied Marc with a large grin

"He will have to go through me first though Mr. *********" stated Sarah

"Is that a proposal, Ms. Shepard?" joked Marc

"No, not yet at least… though I would hurry if I were you, or I might lose my patience" replied Sarah with a smile before the two met in a loving kiss

* * *

Everything slowed down after that. Celebrating Liara and Ashley's engagement came before everything else, then came the more somber stuff as the crew had come to the same realization, they were going to split up.

Well some of them were. Ashley and Liara chose to stay aboard the Normandy with Shepard, they would get married at later date but for now they would follow their Commander.

Garrus was the same, he didn't feel ready to return to C-Sec yet… so he would join along for the ride as well, citing that Marc would go insane without him around to have a proper "guy talk" with from time to time.

Kaidan would be staying aboard the Normandy as well, he had gotten used to the crew and still cared for Shepard so he didn't see a reason to leave. Add that Marc and him were finally getting along, there really wasn't any reason to leave.

Wrex announced his intention of leaving for Tuchanka, he had this grand plan for reuniting the Krogan clans and prepare for the cure to the Genophage, though that little detail was only known between him and Marc.

Tali was going to leave for the Flotilla, she had her pilgrimage gift and felt that she had seen enough of the Galaxy for now. But she did promise Garrus to find some time to see him, perhaps the Normandy could swing by the Flotilla so the two could see each other.

Then there was Echo. Of course he was staying with Shepard, he had nothing else to do and wouldn't risk leaving her behind. Though he did talk about his plans for going to Palavan at his first chance, both to meet Garrus family but also to cure his mother… just like he had promised Saren.

In the end everything was slowly going ahead, life couldn't be halted and everyone would move on. But such is the way of everything and one can only make sure that when your time comes, you have a lot of good memories to show for it.

* * *

**Somewhere in the Galaxy, on a planet hidden from everyone.**

A woman was sitting by a small lake; she sat with her feet dipped into the water and was enjoying the cold sensation when her eyes suddenly popped open and she looked towards the sky.

"Oh my… Sovereign is dead, and a whole day early. That's my Orokan! Perhaps that means I get to see him sooner than I anticipated… ohh I do hope he brings that girlfriend of his, I do so miss the sound of children laughing"

The strange woman stood up and stretched her arms above her head, as a nice breeze blew through the trees as if singing a song. She then walked over to a small hut and went inside; she would be having guests soon!

-The End-


	19. Final Author's Note

**Can you believe it? We are done! I'm done! Mass Effect: Dimensional Rift is officially over!**

**Holy hell I'm above cloud nine right now people, finishing this piece of work has been such a long trip for me and I have learnt so much along the way. **

**Many of you have supported me throughout the entire journey and some of you only recently joined us here in this tale. But to all of you I give my most heartfelt thanks and I consider you all friends.**

**I do so hope you found this ending satisfying and fulfilling and if you didn't then you have my apologies that I could not provide you with the ending you had hoped for.**

**I left it all fairly open ended as I have thoughts of doing a sequel. The very last segment was just me being my usual dick self, I couldn't resist adding that little bit in. I'm sure some of you have figured out what the strange woman meant with her words and some of you haven't.**

**I chose to go with the "summery" style of what every crew member had intended on doing, instead of going through all of it in detail as I want to actually save those segments for the sequel.**

**So for the last time in this story, I bid all of you a good day and I hope we can all see each other again in a sequel.**

**Enjoy life people, it can be a terribly short thing. The best of luck and happiness for all of you!**

**-BundleJumper**


	20. Sequel Announcement

**A/N: Sequel is posted, just thought ya all might wanted to know. It is rather unispiredly called "Mass Effect: Dimensional Rift 2**

**See ya all there**

**-BundleJumper**


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